Contract clause may allow Rams to buy vacated practice facility for $1

The Los Angeles Rams may have an easy $19 million coming their way in 2024.

The Los Angeles Rams may have an easy $19 million coming their way in 2024.

On Friday, a lawsuit filed by the public board that governs the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis unearthed the details of the Rams’ lease with the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. That contract allows the Rams to purchase their now-vacated 27-acre practice facility in Missouri, Rams Park, for just $1 in 2024. 

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the land was once appraised by the county for nearly $19 million. The Rams had been leasing it since 1995 for $25,000 per year.

Now, the board is attempting to block the team’s future purchase of the facility.

“The [Edward Jones Dome Authority] owns the training facility, which is a valuable asset,” attorney Chris Bauman told the paper. “We have a responsibility to maximize the value of that. And to do that, we need certainty concerning this invalid option.”

In January, the Rams announced they would relocate from St. Louis to Los Angeles. Nineteen million dollars would be a sizeable parting gift.

– Kenny Ducey