Blues seek St. Louis arena upgrades after departure of Rams

With the NFL’s Rams leaving town, the NHL's St. Louis Blues figure it's a good time to rattle their tin cup and see if they can squeeze some arena renovation fundage out of the city's government.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The St. Louis Blues want two local governments to renovate their city-owned downtown arena as part of a project that will also upgrade the city's convention center and former home of its recently departed NFL team.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Blues officials and the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission met with city and St. Louis County leaders last week to discuss a $100 million renovation of the 21-year-old Scottrade Center.

The proposed project also calls for remodeling the America's Center convention complex and the adjacent Edward Jones Dome, which was home to the St. Louis Rams before the NFL approved its move back to Los Angeles.

Big athletic supporters want to package the three projects together to maximize potential public financing.