A decade after suing the National Football League over the departure of the Rams to Los Angeles, the city of St. Louis has starting spending the money it got from the lawsuit’s settlement.
“When the Rams left St. Louis, our community felt that loss,” Mayor Cara Spencer said Monday as she signed legislation authorizing a plan to spend the $255 million. “We felt it as sports fans. We felt it as taxpayers. We felt it in our infrastructure, in our economy, and in the confidence of a city that deserved better. Today, we begin turning that page.”
The bill sets aside $120 million for north St. Louis, including $31 million to help neighborhoods north of Delmar implement strategic redevelopment plans. Another $89 million will fund tornado relief, with the vast majority of that money going to housing repair and preservation.
Downtown will receive $55 million, and the city will use the remaining $80 million for public works including sidewalks and street repair as well as to address vacant buildings.
Spencer said the city plans to immediately spend $2.5 million on hazardous tree and stump removal, and sidewalk repair that is not eligible for FEMA reimbursement. She said the water division will also promptly receive its $40 million to start critical repairs.