Following the NFL's 30-2 decision, Slay released the following statement:
"The NFL ignored the facts, the loyalty of St. Louis fans, who supported the team through far more downs than ups, and the NFL ignored a strong market and viable plan for a new stadium. I am proud of our effort and what St. Louis was able to accomplish in an extraordinarily short period of time. I thank everyone who worked so diligently on this project, especially the Governor's Task Force."
In a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week, Slay wrote, "I have been Mayor of St. Louis since (2002) and I — to this day — cannot ever remember meeting Stan Kroenke ... much less engaging with him in any conversations about the future of NFL football in St. Louis.” NFL guidelines suggest:
"Because League policy favors stable team-community relations, clubs are obligated to work diligently and in good faith to obtain and to maintain suitable stadium facilities in their home territories, and to operate in a manner that maximizes fan support in their current home community. A club may not, however, grant exclusive negotiating rights to a community or potential stadium landlord other than one in its current home territory."
In Tuesday's statement, Slay continued, "St. Louis is a great place to live and build a business — with or without NFL football," and Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon echoed that sentiment in a statement of his own: "The fact remains that St. Louis is a world-class city deserving of a world-class NFL team." Nixon continued:
“Tonight’s decision is disappointing, and a clear deviation from the NFL’s guidelines. It is troubling that the league would allow for the relocation of a team when a home market has worked in good faith and presented a strong and viable proposal. This sets a terrible precedent not only for St. Louis, but for all communities that have loyally supported their NFL franchises."
While a number of local politicians weighed in on the decision, Sterger's statement was the most biting.
“As a football fan and a lifetime resident of the St. Louis area, I am bitterly disappointed in tonight’s news. This region deserves an NFL team. This region is fully capable of supporting an NFL team. That team should have been the Rams. The NFL and Stan Kroenke have displayed a callous disregard for the St. Louis area and its loyal football fans.”
Nixon appointed an STLNFL Stadium Task Force that proposed a $1.1 billion stadium project on the city's waterfront to be built using $400 million in public funding, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The NFL offered the Chargers and Raiders an additional $100 million to respectively remain in San Diego and Oakland. Instead, Kroenke has been planning to construct a $1.9 billion stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
The task force also released a statement:
"Today’s decision by the NFL concludes a flawed process that ends with the unthinkable result of St. Louis losing the Rams. Over the past 15 months, our stadium task force has delivered in every respect to what the NFL demanded of St. Louis to keep our team. More important, over the past 21 seasons, most of them dire, St. Louis has been remarkably supportive of and faithful to the Rams. We will leave it to the NFL to explain how this could happen and hope the next city that may experience what St. Louis has endured will enjoy a happier and more appropriate outcome."
Nixon said the state would investigate the NFL's alleged violation of its guidelines. According to St. Louis-based KTVI-TV, Board of Alderman President said the city will "explore our options" to land another team.
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