Notes on the St. Louis Rams

You likely saw the breaking news on the St. Louis Rams NFL team:

Rams relocating to Los Angeles

First, this is certainly, absolutely no time to gloat, as a Kansas Citian.

Sure, we're happy to have our team but no way do we want to put down St. Louis for losing theirs. No way. That's just ugly.

Second, it's got to hurt. And in so many ways.

--It's the 2nd NFL team the city has lost.

--It hurts tax revenues.

--It hurts the city's image both internally and externally--how they see themselves and how the nation might.

--It's got to hurt their downtown and business and businesses and hotels and restaurants, you name it.

That said, I have to admit, I was hoping they could keep the team. I just wasn't for a new stadium for them.

Sure, if they wanted to pay for it themselves, have at it. I wasn't for them keeping their team at any price. I specifically wasn't for Missourians, statewide, having to pay any state taxes just so wealthy people could have a new stadium.

But all of us pay for it?

No way.

So now this is settled. For them. Now. And it hurts and it's ugly but so be it.

What occurs to me now, however, is that, next time the owners of either our Royals or Chiefs want us all, again, to cough up hundreds of millions of dollars for stadium renovations?

Oh, hell no.

My position remains the same for us, as well.

If the wealthy want a new stadium or stadium upgrades...   they can darned well pay for it themselves.