ST. LOUIS 鈥 More than $500 million from the NFL Rams settlement hit local government bank accounts Thursday, officially ending a yearlong discussion over how to divvy up the windfall and teeing up the public debate over how to spend it.
The three-month U.S. Treasury bills the parties to the Rams relocation lawsuit agreed to purchase in October matured Thursday, earning some $5 million more to bring the total split between the three entities up to $520 million.
And all three 鈥 狐狸视频, 狐狸视频 County and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority that owns The Dome at America鈥檚 Center 鈥 had plans in place Thursday to invest the money and continue earning interest on their share of the settlement.
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Under the November agreement splitting the settlement, 狐狸视频 gets $280.5 million, with $30 million of the city鈥檚 share earmarked for the over-budget downtown convention center expansion. The city plans to park the money in the Missouri Securities and Investment Program, an entity used by the state鈥檚 school districts and local governments to invest government funds. The , which can be withdrawn any time, is 4.34%.
鈥淒eveloping a community-driven plan to use Rams settlement funds will take time, but our investment will accrue interest and grow as we work together to do so,鈥 狐狸视频 Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in a statement. 鈥淚 look forward to working with the Board of Aldermen to use these funds to make transformative change in our city for generations to come.鈥
狐狸视频 County received $169.3 million from the settlement. The county is investing its money in U.S. Treasury bonds and other government enterprise debt with maturities between six months and 11 months. Those investments are yielding between 4.73% and 4.85%.
鈥淏y putting this money into Treasury Bonds, we can continue to collect high-yield interest while having thoughtful conversations with the community and the council on the best way to use these funds,鈥 狐狸视频 County Executive Sam Page said in a statement.
The RSA is in the process of interviewing and evaluating several investment firms to manage its $70 million share of the settlement. RSA board members, who met Wednesday, said they plan to park their cash in a liquid money market fund earning about 3.85% while they pick a financial services firm to invest their money.
The board鈥檚 finance committee said it planned to interview firms that responded to a request for proposals and could vote to recommend a firm as soon as Friday. The whole RSA board plans to hold a special meeting shortly after to ratify the choice in order to take advantage of the higher yields offered by Treasury securities.
Annual Dome maintenance payments from the city, county and state of Missouri will cease next year, and the RSA plans to use its share to continue long-term maintenance of the structure used for conventions and events. Some sizable repairs, including a new roof, could be needed soon.
The Rams settlement, reached in November 2021, was worth $790 million. Lawyers from firms Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch and Dowd Bennett who took the case on commission earned more than $276.5 million from the settlement, leaving about $512.6 million for local governments before it began earning interest.