Blues Hockey Team Asks Judge To Fine City Comptroller $1000 A Day

ST. LOUIS, MO — The St. Louis Blues hockey team have asked a circuit court judge to fine city comptroller Darlene Green $1,000 a day until she releases a signed copy of the $64 million agreement for renovations to Scottrade Center, where the Blues play. The agreement was narrowly passed by the Board of Aldermen in February and calls on the city to issue $64 million in bonds to fund the facility's renovations. Green, the city's chief financial official, refused to signed the agreement, saying the debt — which, with interest, would cost St. Louis more than $100 million over three decades — endangers the city's credit rating.

A judge ordered Green to sign the agreement Nov. 27, after the Blues' owners filed suit, saying the the comptroller does not have the authority to refuse to sign an agreement passed by the board. Green's attorney's have appealed, saying the judge misread her authority under the city's charter.

A spokesman for Green said she has signed the agreement, but will not release it until her appeals make their way through court. Attorneys for the Blues said a signed agreement does no good if it is not released to the public.

Supporters say the renovations will generate economic growth and that the arena has generated $100 million in tax revenue since it opened in 1994. Additionally, a new sales tax has been proposed to offset some of the cost of the renovations.

But critics like 20th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer say it is irresponsible to subsidize a professional sports team when the city is facing a $20 million budget shortfall next year. “We are telling our city what we prioritize..." she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Spencer has also tried to stop the agreement in court, alleging it is unconstitutional to use public money to subsidize private profits. The city owns the property, but the St. Louis Blues is the building's only tenant and reaps all profits from events held in the arena, not just hockey games. According the the St. Louis Business Journal, the team is now valued at $310 million, more than double what they were worth just five years ago. And critics say city ownership is, in fact, a tax abatement, meaning the team pays no taxes on the property.

Spencer said the original lease, which the Board of Aldermen did not have when it voted on the agreement, says the city does not own the building, only the land it sits on, and that the Blues are responsible for all maintenance, repair and improvement to the facility.

"The situation is akin to that of a woman who owns land, who leases the full use of her land to a family for 50 years, retaining only bare legal title. The family builds a big house, then halfway through the lease complains that she should buy them a big-screen TV and swimming pool for their house simply because she is the 'owner,'" Spencer claims in court documents.

City officials and Blues owners are hopeful the state will fund an additional $70 million second round of renovations after the first is complete, and a third round of renovations is also planned.

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