How to Invest a Portion of the Rams Settlement Money
St. Louis received stunningly positive news late last year. Thanks to the skill and tenacity of a number of St Louis legal and public sector professionals, the NFL and the Rams agreed to a $790 million settlement arising from damages sustained by the City due to the relocation of the Rams professional football team from St. Louis to Los Angeles.
After deduction of expenses, St. Louis( including City, County and Regional Sports Authority, collectively referred to as “ St. Louis") now has over $500 million to invest into the region. This is a plea to invest up to $200 million of the settlement proceeds into restoring and improving the extensive neighborhood public park system in the City of St Louis, including provision for a reserve fund to pay for the maintenance and upkeep over time.
Because of the “once-in-a-lifetime” nature of the Rams settlement, it is important to invest the funds in projects which will have a multi-generational impact on St Louis. Investing long-term into the city-wide Park system complements and does not displace various short-term cash payouts to St Louis residents as part of the recent federal stimulus bills. Moreover, the short-term operating needs of the City, such as new rolling stock, street repairs, trash collection and regular maintenance of City assets, can all be supported from money contained in the federal stimulus and infrastructure legislation. Specifically, it should be stressed that an acute need for internet access in many parts of the City has been identified and that targeted federal funds as well as local funds designed to combat the” broadband desert”, are now available.
St. Louis would achieve significant long-term benefits from a major investment in its Park system with the proceeds of the Rams settlement money. With over 100 individual parks encompassing virtually every neighborhood in St. Louis, the park system ranges in size from 1370 acres ( Forest Park) to a number of parks smaller than one acre. Most urban planners concur that City Parks play a very positive environmental and economic development role in urban areas throughout the United States. These parks provide green space and recreational opportunities for everyone, particularly for those kids and teenagers who might otherwise have no access. Parks also play a role in providing a great setting for arts and cultural programs. Each year the St. Louis Shakespeare festival appears not only in Forest Park but in other parks and neighborhoods throughout the City and Region. Finally, the trees and greenspace offered by parks encourage exercise, recreation activities, biking and ball games. Environmentally friendly, urban parks in St. Louis offer many activities which enhance the quality of life and create a sense of community in St. Louis as well as reducing crime.
The St. Louis experience with Forest Park represents a compelling case study as to why investing Rams settlement money in the City Park system will yield superb long term benefits to generations of St. Louisans. By the mid 1970’s and 80’s, Forest Park had fallen into a serious state of disrepair. In fact, the last City money of a capital nature took place from a bond issue in 1958. Under the leadership of former Mayor Freeman Bosley, several tax backed bond issues were approved by City voters in the mid-1990’s, which allowed the City to dedicate millions of dollars to the repair and renovation of Forest Park infrastructure. At the same time, a private, not-for-profit group known as Forest Park Forever, energized by the public sector commitment, began raising millions of dollars in charitable donations to spend on the enhancement and beautification of Forest Park.
As a result of the combined effort of the public sector and the private sector over the past several decades and the extraordinary generosity of certain St. Louis families and individuals, Forest Park has reached a stage in 2022 where it has been named the #1 Urban Park in the United States in a national poll recently conducted by USA Today. The tangible and intangible benefits of this development to St Louis are enormous. Employing Rams settlement funds as an anchor, the Forest Park formula for success could be used to transform other parks and neighborhoods throughout the entire City.
A shovel-ready, prime example of what could be done under this program is Fairground Park in North St. Louis. One of the larger parks in the City, Fairground Park has a more than century old history in St. Louis as an anchor in its neighborhood. However, in recent years Fairground Park has not been able to maintain its excellence and needs substantial improvement. In that connection, a group of stakeholders in the park came together with the City to create a Master Plan for the Park in 2006. The Plan, both sweeping and detailed at the same time, set forth a marvelous vision for the Park into the 21st century. Unfortunately, the Plan has languished on a shelf for many years, having received no funding for its implementation. Under the proposed Rams settlement money plan, Fairground Park as envisioned by the Master Plan, could become a reality in a short period of time. The Forest Park public/private investment formula, combined with the Rams settlement money, could galvanize activity for Fairground Park.
St. Louis has a golden opportunity to build on the momentum of the ‘90s and the revitalization of Forest Park and using the Rams settlement money, transform the parks in the City into engines of family fun and neighborhood stabilization.