ST. LOUIS 鈥 The Dome at America鈥檚 Center downtown needs more than $150 million in repairs and upgrades over the next 10 years to keep up with modern expectations, according to a draft report produced for the agency that oversees the facility.
LED displays in the stadium bowl are 15 years old and well beyond their usable life, the report says. The speaker system is 鈥渞ight on the edge of unusable.鈥 And the elevators and escalators will soon need extensive, costly maintenance to remain safe for patrons.
鈥淚t鈥檚 quite a bit,鈥 Phil Torrisi, one of the agency鈥檚 board members, said Tuesday. 鈥淨uite a bit.鈥
The report, commissioned by the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, puts a fine point on what board members and many observers already know:
The Dome, once a modern football palace home to the NFL鈥檚 鈥淕reatest Show on Turf,鈥 is now an old arena. Nearly 30 years after opening day, it still hosts assemblies for large conventions, Metallica and Beyonc茅 concerts, and even some lower-level professional football games, bringing tens of thousands of people to the city center.
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But without an incumbent NFL team pushing for top-tier improvements or sufficient revenues to make them, the facility has started to get creaky. It鈥檚 not going to get better without a big cash injection. And supporters say it needs to get better.
Regional leaders just poured more than $250 million into an expansion of the convention center, which connects to the Dome and relies on it to draw some of its biggest events. After months of delays and budget-busting cost overruns on the expansion, leaders are under pressure to draw as many big events as possible.
The St. 亚洲无码 Sports Commission also needs a healthy dome to attract big games. Commission president Marc Schreiber said the competition from newer facilities in cities like , and is tough and getting tougher. He said hosting another Final Four of the NCAA men鈥檚 basketball tournament, like the Dome did in 2005, is probably out of reach at this point.
But with investment, he said, the arena could still draw significant events, like University of Missouri football games and Olympic swimming trials, that would bring a lot of people downtown to spend money.
鈥淚f we stay where we are,鈥 he warned, 鈥渋t鈥檚 going to be a lot more difficult.鈥
But the Dome authority will likely need some help. It had $88 million in its account as of June 30, most of which comes from $70 million in proceeds from the Rams relocation settlement. And, right now, that鈥檚 all the facility has for repairs. Annual maintenance payments from the city, St. 亚洲无码 County and the state of Missouri, long the authority鈥檚 lifeline, ended earlier this year.
鈥淩ight now we have no sources of income,鈥 said Joe Blanner, the dome board鈥檚 secretary-treasurer. 鈥淎nd if we鈥檙e to tackle all of the items in this report, we鈥檙e going to have to figure out other sources of income.鈥
Commissioners interviewed Tuesday they鈥檙e still discussing how to go about finding that money.
There鈥檚 talk of trying to sell naming rights on the facility again.
Financial firm Edward Jones, which paid the Rams to put its name on the dome, took its name off the roof after the team decamped for Los Angeles.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the no-name building,鈥 said board member and restaurateur Chris Saracino. 鈥淚f someone wants to be a good corporate partner in our region, it would be a great first step.鈥
Saracino said the dome鈥檚 original financiers 鈥 the city, the county and the state 鈥 could also play a role.
Conner Kerrigan, a spokesperson for Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, said the office had not heard from the authority or discussed听funding any improvements at the dome.
Doug Moore, a spokesperson for County Executive Sam Page, said the county, which is struggling with budget deficits, 鈥渉as no additional funds to support the Dome.鈥
And state officials could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
In total, the 57-page report from Tennessee-based consultancy Venue Solutions Group recommends spending $155 million on the dome through 2034, and the lion鈥檚 share of it before 2028.
Much of the bill would come from replacing technology, like the LED displays, failing video production and broadcast equipment, as well as old TVs described as 鈥渆nd-of-life.鈥
The report also recommends pumping more than $40 million into maintenance and replacement of elevators and escalators, where consultants found leaking, rusting parts and an immediate need for some thorough cleaning.
The dome authority is planning to meet to review the report early next month.
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