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Nixon meets with Kroenke; GOP lawmakers still oppose stadium funding plan

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Gov. Jay Nixon met with St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke Monday, one day before NFL owners are scheduled to meet in Dallas to discuss the league's potential return to Los Angeles.

Nixon spokesperson Channing Ansley told the Associated Press that Nixon and Kroenke met, but she did not disclose any details.

The Rams, Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers have all submitted plans to relocate to the Los Angeles area, which has been without an NFL franchise for more than 20 years.  Kroenke wants to build a new stadium in Inglewood, about 12 miles southwest of downtown LA. The Raiders and Chargers are planning to jointly build and share a stadium in Carson, 14 miles south of downtown.

The Rams played in the Los Angeles Coliseum from 1946 to 1979, before moving to a then-new facility in Anaheim while retaining "Los Angeles" as the team's nickname.  The Raiders moved from Oakland to play in the Coliseum starting in 1982.

Both teams left southern California after the 1994 season ended, with the Raiders moving back to Oakland and the Rams to St. Louis.

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Gov. Nixon's meeting withKroenkefell on the same day budget writers in the Missouri House met to discuss his proposal to help fund a new NFL stadium in St. Louis.  Republican Jay Barnes of Jefferson City told the House Budget Committee that state law bars the refinancing of state bonds for one facility to pay for another.

"Our predecessors did not write a blank check for future governors (to) forever to build stadium, after stadium, after stadium, after stadium, without coming back to the General Assembly for either a new statute or some sort of authority to do so," Barnes said. "If you agree with the governor, that is what you are saying:  that this statute, as it exists today, is now and forever a blank check to all governors to build stadiums just about anywhere."

Office of Administration Commissioner Doug Nelson testified saying the proposal to extend bond payments for the Edward Jones Dome to build a new stadium for the St. Louis Rams does not violate state law.

"The legislative branch has granted the executive branch very broad authority in what the (Regional Sports Authority) can do and what the state can enter into," Nelson said. "It says to build 'stadiums,' it doesn't say one stadium, it doesn't say five, it doesn't say 10."

Several Republican lawmakers have vowed to block Nixon from extending bond payments, going so far as to threaten to stop debt payments on the bonds, a move Nixon says could jeopardize the state's AAA credit rating.

Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter:  @MarshallGReport

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
Marshall Griffin
St. Louis Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a native of Mississippi and proud alumnus of Ole Miss (welcome to the SEC, Mizzou!). He has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off an old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Liberty Belle, and their cat, Honey.