urbanSTL

dbInSouthCity wrote: ↑

Dec 02, 2025

There is a $50M lifeline for the County that will be coming but in exchange the City will get something to its benefit long term.  look for some pre-filled bills in jeff city when it opens this month 

right on queue, step 1 

Leaders of the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority on Wednesday will propose a merger with tourism agency Explore St. Louis as part of a measure that also seeks new funding to manage the Dome at America's Center.

The board of the RSA, which owns the Dome, will call for changes to Missouri law that would enable the merger that would put the Dome and the America's Center convention complex under a single entity and board, with appointees made by the Missouri governor, St. Louis mayor and St. Louis County executive.
As it works now, the state-created RSA owns the Dome, but has an agreement with Explore St. Louis to manage the facility for events. Explore also operates America's Center, which is owned by the city and connected via tunnel to the Dome.
The resolution before the board also calls for the existing 3.5% hotel tax levied in the city and county to be utilized "for the benefit of the Convention Center/Dome Complex" once other obligations have been fulfilled. The governments are using funds from that tax to pay back debt issued for a controversial, scaled-back expansion of America's Center. A separate, 3.75% hotel tax funds operations at Explore, but none of the money goes to the Dome.

The resolution also calls for exploring new funding mechanisms for the Dome and America's Center, and encourages Explore to enter a "long-term agreement with the Missouri Department of Economic Development to provide funding" from the state. It authorizes the RSA's lobbyists to work toward changing state statute to allow for the shift.
The Explore St. Louis board is set to consider a similar resolution this week, according to people familiar with the matter. That organization's CEO, Brad Dean, said in a statement that he couldn't yet offer a detailed perspective since its board hasn't yet met on the matter.
"We recognize our responsibility for prudent use of public funds and efficient management of two key regional assets, The America's Center and The Dome," Dean said. "The resolution to be discussed calls for responsible, future-focused actions that will eliminate redundancy, align oversight and create sustainable revenue sources to protect and sustain The Dome and America's Center. As we evaluate all options, we are focused on ensuing both facilities continue to support economic growth, expand opportunities for large-scale events and serve the St. Louis community for many years to come."
The Dome doesn't have sufficient funding for maintenance over the next decade, a recent state audit found, estimating a $67 million funding gap.

Until last year, the RSA — which has one full-time employee — received annual allotments from the city, county and state to be used for preservation of the Dome. But those payments concluded in 2024, an expiration outlined in the initial orders to build the Dome, which opened to the public in 1995. Only $17 million in preservation funds remained as of the end of March. The RSA also has $72.4 million from its share of the region's settlement with the National Football League over the Rams' departure for L.A. after the funds were moved into interest-bearing accounts.
The RSA has said it would use $15 million of the remaining preservation funds to address short-term needs in fiscal 2026, with the rest coming from its Rams funds. After that, a small amount of preservation funds remain, and will be utilized again before Rams funds.
An RSA board member said in June that the board aimed to upgrade the Dome in the short-term, while keeping $35 million in reserves for future upgrades.

St. Louis County has said it won't contribute more to the project, while the city of St. Louis says it can't go it alone. Dome management has also cast doubt on asking the state of Missouri for more funding, fearing they would catch flack for the $19.4 million in public spending used to design a riverfront stadium pitched to keep the Rams in St. Louis that was never built, according to the audit. It also criticized the current arrangement allowing for Explore alone to get rents from Dome events.
The RSA's response said the deployment of funds earlier this summer, and last year's report into long-term maintenance costs, were done thoughtfully to prioritize immediate improvements, most of which impacted event attraction. Its response also leaned on a reported $200 million in the facility's "annual economic impact" to the region and $25 million in tax revenue through events hosted there.

TheWayoftheArch_V2.0 wrote: ↑

Dec 03, 2025

So we are giving to county $50 mil to take control of the dome permanently?

the 3.5% county hotel tax going to the Dome going forward.