Dive Brief:
- The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is set to consider a proposed $145 million Rams stadium financing package, which contains a minority workforce plan that proponents call "transformative," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The minority participation provisions for the $1 billion project would cost more than $3 million, $1.3 million designated to recruit, train and pay living expenses for some new workers.
- The plan requires 25% minority participation and sets aside money to guarantee loans, provide administrative assistance, expedite payment to minority, women and veteran-owned businesses and to create an electronic database of minority workers to be used on the stadium and other public projects, the Post-Dispatch reported.
- Skeptics of the plan cited previous examples of public projects when minority requirements were promised then ignored and insisted there be penalties if the goals are not met.
Dive Insight:
City and state officials put their $400 million financing plan — with $145 million from the city and the rest from the state — together in the hopes NFL owners would block Rams owner Stan Kroenke from moving the team to Los Angeles. The state plans to use state money to fund the project beyond the city’s contribution of $145 million.
Additional provisions of the minority workforce plan include:
- Hiring local residents
- Considering minority hiring history when awarding stadium construction contracts
- Third-party monitoring of contractors' adherence to minority plans by a company with no ties to the project or area
- An oversight committee to meet monthly and report to local authorities regarding plan goals
The minority participation provisions of the plan will also apply to stadium operations.
Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis NAACP chapter, said the plan could be "transformative" and that he will support the stadium proposal as long as the minority inclusion provisions are included.
"Do I want 25% of $1 billion to go into the pockets and households of African-Americans in this city? Absolutely. They need it," he said.
