The Los Angeles Rams are trying to purchase their former practice facility from the City of St. Louis for exactly $1. A lawsuit filed by the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority Complex is trying to block the move, which stems from a contractual agreement from almost 30 years ago.
This unusual litigious battle will be handled in St. Louis Circuit Court.
The Rams signed a lease for use of their former practice facility in Earth City when they moved from L.A. to St. Louis in 1995. A strange provision in the contract actually allowed the NFL organization to purchase its 27-acre training site on the 29th anniversary of the lease. That date falls later this month.
Los Angeles has an opportunity to purchase the buildings, grounds and fields back from the public as part of a ‘quitclaim deed transfer.’ According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the team put those plans into action last week.
A quitclaim deed is a legal document that allows one party to give away its ownership of a property to another party without promising the property is in good condition. It’s essentially saying, “I’m giving you what I have, but I cannot guarantee it’s all clear.”
While Rams are cool with those terms, St. Louis is not!
It filed a lawsuit that seeks to disable the quitclaim deed transfer from 1995.
Bob Blitz represents the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority Complex. His primary argument against the $1 purchase stems from how the Rams handled their lease while still in town. He claims that because the team went year-to-year on its lease, the deed transfer is invalid.
Blitz agrees that the Rams had the right to purchase the Earth City facility if the lease was terminated. However, because it was year-to-year, he believes the lease was not terminated and instead expired.
On the flip side, the Rams claim that the $1 acquisition was fully available to the organization through the end of the original 30-year lease regardless of how the lease ended. That will be up to the court to decide.
According to a St. Louis County assessment, the Earth City property is worth $24.4 million. Los Angeles would like to buy it back for $24,399,999 less.