Let's say you are a professional sports team that has not had a winning season since 2003.
To be fair, in that time you had two years where you broke even (2004, 2006).
Suppose that your attendance has declined in 4 of the past 5 years.
Let's pretend that your lease agreement for the building you play in is at a point of negotiation.
What would you do?
I'm pretty sure that nobody in their right mind would counter a $124 million dollar renovation proposal with an estimated $700 million dollar proposal, regardless of what your current contract says you can do.
It would appear that the St. Louis Rams are absolutely insane and believe that the City of St. Louis and the taxpayers of the State of Missouri should do just that. I think it is safe to say that the Rams have a very inflated perception of their value.
What's a Rams Team Worth?
Last year, Forbes Magazine valued the Rams at $775 million dollars. That is down from 2009 when Forbes valued the team at $929 million. Given the fact that the Rams had another terrible season last year, it would seem reasonable to expect that this value might go unchanged or decline in this year's valuation. And yet, despite their pathetic on field performance, the organization feels it is entitled to a ridiculous renovation project that would cost almost more than what the entire organization is worth.
"But if we don't make them happy, they might leave!" people say.
In fact, the Rams silently threaten that every time the lease is discussed.
Shame on them for doing so.
The Rams were bought and moved into a brand new facility and given a fan base that was eager to adopt them as their own. The fans suffered through some terrible football and paid a high price to watch the pitiful product take the field. When the Super Bowl trophy made its way to the shadow of the Arch, the fans here were ecstatic. When "the best show on turf" faded, the fans continued to support the team. While the numbers may have dropped over time, the overarching support for the team had not.
And here's where we get into the blame game...