Stadium foes claim place on ballot for November

ST. LOUIS -- A group opposed to using public money to help the St. Louis Cardinals build a replacement for Busch Stadium says it has succeeded in placing a measure on the November ballot that, if approved, would require voters in the city to sign off on any such subsidy.

"Now, if the citizens of St. Louis vote yes on Nov. 5, they can give themselves the right to vote if the Cardinal owners ever come back asking for taxpayer money for a new stadium," said Fred Lindecke, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Public Funding for Stadiums.

The coalition said it submitted more than 18,000 signatures to the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners in support of the initiative, with the board certifying 14,051 as valid. The group needed to collect 9,794 valid signatures.

The city's Board of Aldermen now has 60 days to approve the petition. The board can't reject the petition or amend it. If the aldermen do nothing, the proposal should appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

If approved, the measure would require a citywide vote on any appropriation of city funds to help the Cardinals build a new stadium.

Effort said anti-St. Louis

The news drew a sharp reaction from City Hall, where Mayor Francis Slay has called the coalition's efforts anti-St. Louis.

"If they clear the considerable hurdles ahead of them, the only thing they will have accomplished is to make it less likely the Cardinals, their three million fans and millions of tax dollars remain in the city of St. Louis," said Ed Rhode, Slay's spokesman.

As part of a deal reached last year with the team, St. Louis County and Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, the city would have contributed $60 million -- or $4.2 million in annual bond payment for 30 years -- to a $646 million stadium and neighboring "Ballpark Village" development.

That deal fell apart when the Missouri House adjourned its 2002 session without taking a vote to approve the state's contribution. Immediately after the session ended, the Cardinals said they would begin looking at sites for a new stadium outside of downtown.

However, municipal leaders in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, potential sites for a new ball park, have said since they remain committed to seeing a new stadium built downtown. Slay and St. Louis County executive Buzz Westfall are working on an alternative plan that would keep the Cardinals downtown.