St. Louis’ Downtown Dome Needs a Lot More Cash, State Audit Finds
Date Posted: May 29, 2025
Posted In: News, Projects,
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A lack of revenue and piles of deferred maintenance spell an uncertain future for downtown’s domed arena, according to a state audit of the agency that oversees the facility.
The Dome at America’s Center needs $155 million in repairs over the next decade, according to a draft of the audit obtained by the Post-Dispatch. But the agency that oversees the Dome hasn’t secured new sources of revenue after payments from St. Louis, St. Louis County and Missouri stopped last year.
Moreover, one of the Dome’s possible revenue streams is locked up. St. Louis County previously sent money to the Dome from a tax on hotel stays. The county is still collecting the tax, but doesn’t want to send it to the Dome anymore, according to the audit.
“Without adequate sources in place to cover the long-term maintenance needs of the Dome, the long-term viability of the Dome may be at risk,” the report says.
The cost of the Dome has been a big deal since city officials and the then-St. Louis Rams football team began negotiating over upgrades more than a decade ago. The Rams famously demanded the region fund upgrades that would create a “first-tier” stadium. And when city officials refused, the Rams, eventually, left for Los Angeles.
Then, last year, the streams of cash from St. Louis, St. Louis County and Missouri timed out. And the agency that oversees Dome management, the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, warned that the Dome desperately needed a new revenue source.