ST. LOUIS (AP) - St. Louis contends that an ordinance requiring a public vote before city tax dollars are used on a new football stadium is valid.
The argument is part of a counterclaim filed against the public board that owns and operates the Edward Jones Dome where the Rams play, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1L76CWx) reported.
At issue is a 2002 ordinance requiring a public vote on funding, which the Dome authority claims in a lawsuit is "overly broad, vague and ambiguous." The board wants the court to rule that law doesn't apply, conflicts with Missouri statutes or is unconstitutional.
The city filing further alleges in the counterclaim that the Dome authority can't build a new stadium on the north riverfront anyway. It says the state law that allowed for the building of the Jones Dome - and is being used to authorize construction of a new stadium - required the dome to be located "adjacent to an existing convention facility." But the proposed new stadium, the city's filing argues, is "located on the other side of a road" from America's Center and the Jones Dome, where the city currently hosts conventions.
Mayor Francis Slay is publicly supportive of the new stadium. City Counselor Winston Calvert said this suit gives the city a chance to get answers sooner rather than later. The counterclaim, he said, "is a reflection of the fact that everybody is ready to get these issues resolved and move on."
Attorneys for the Dome authority now have a week to respond. St. Louis Circuit Court Judge Thomas Frawley has set the next hearing for June 25.
The lawsuit is one of two attacking funding sources for the $985 million football arena.