The building is losing money.
The United Football League is playing its championship game in the league’s best city for attendance, St. Louis, but the future of the domed facility is very much in question. The building is 30-years-old and apparently is in need of a facelift. But there is a problem, other than the UFL’s schedule which is a minimum of five games a year and some concerts, the place is most devoid of events. It is losing money and government support seems to have evaporated which means the place may not be around much longer unless new revenue streams are found. St. Louis County helped fund the dome through a hotel tax but has stopped the checks. The state of Missouri is not sending money to support the stadium.
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The stadium was built in the early 1990s with the hope of landing a National Football League franchise and St. Louis politicians lured Los Angeles Rams franchise owner Georgia Frontiere to take her business to the Midwest city. She signed a 20-year deal with a provision that the stadium was required to feature amenities that would be maintained in the top 25 percent of all NFL venues. That did not happen. New owner Stan Kroenke took his business to Los Angeles after the 2015 season. Kroenke and the NFL were sued by the city of St. Louis and The County for bargaining in bad faith in stadium lease extension negotiations. The sides settled as Kroenke and the NFL forked over $790 million in November 2021 with much of the money split between the city of St. Louis and St. Louis County. A Regional Convention & Sports Complex Authority draft of an audit concluded that “the long-term viability of the Dome may be at risk.” Saving the dome may become a big issue in St. Louis.
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The UFL Championship game will be played in the Dome
