ST. LOUIS — More than $500 million from the NFL Rams settlement hit local government bank accounts Thursday, officially ending a yearlong discussion over how to divvy up the windfall and teeing up the public debate over how to spend it.
The three-month U.S. Treasury bills the parties to the Rams relocation lawsuit agreed to purchase in October matured Thursday, earning some $5 million more to bring the total split between the three entities up to $520 million.
And all three — St. Louis, St. Louis County and the Regional Convention and Ƶ Complex Authority that owns The Dome at America’s Center — had plans in place Thursday to invest the money and continue earning interest on their share of the settlement.
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Under the November agreement splitting the settlement, St. Louis gets $280.5 million, with $30 million of the city’s share earmarked for the over-budget downtown convention center expansion. The city plans to park the money in the Missouri Securities and Investment Program, an entity used by the state’s school districts and local governments to invest government funds. The , which can be withdrawn any time, is 4.34%.
“Developing a community-driven plan to use Rams settlement funds will take time, but our investment will accrue interest and grow as we work together to do so,” St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the Board of Aldermen to use these funds to make transformative change in our city for generations to come.”
St. Louis County received $169.3 million from the settlement. The county is investing its money in U.S. Treasury bonds and other government enterprise debt with maturities between six months and 11 months. Those investments are yielding between 4.73% and 4.85%.
“By putting this money into Treasury Bonds, we can continue to collect high-yield interest while having thoughtful conversations with the community and the council on the best way to use these funds,” St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a statement.
The RSA is in the process of interviewing and evaluating several investment firms to manage its $70 million share of the settlement. RSA board members, who met Wednesday, said they plan to park their cash in a liquid money market fund earning about 3.85% while they pick a financial services firm to invest their money.
The board’s finance committee said it planned to interview firms that responded to a request for proposals and could vote to recommend a firm as soon as Friday. The whole RSA board plans to hold a special meeting shortly after to ratify the choice in order to take advantage of the higher yields offered by Treasury securities.
Annual Dome maintenance payments from the city, county and state of Missouri will cease next year, and the RSA plans to use its share to continue long-term maintenance of the structure used for conventions and events. Some sizable repairs, including a new roof, could be needed soon.
The Rams settlement, reached in November 2021, was worth $790 million. Lawyers from firms Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch and Dowd Bennett who took the case on commission earned more than $276.5 million from the settlement, leaving about $512.6 million for local governments before it began earning interest.
MEETING MONEY: St. Louis' convention center is having trouble staying within budget for its expansion. Jim Gallagher calls it a boondoggle, and David Nicklaus says leaders will probably have to find more money or scale back the project.
