ST. LOUIS – A new Missouri audit will determine whether officials adequately used $16 million in efforts to keep the NFL Rams franchise in St. Louis.
State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick formally announced plans for the audit on Tuesday. His office will examine decisions from the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority (RSA) that led to $16.2 million in spending.
The audit will review the hiring of architecture firm and various attorneys and consultants, in addition to failed proposal for a riverfront stadium.
“The Sports Authority is a public entity using public dollars and it deserves to be held to the highest possible standard as we make sure the millions of dollars the RSA spent were used responsibly and in accordance with state law,” said Fitzpatrick via a news release.
“I have led efforts in the past to examine how these dollars were spent but we’ve only been able to obtain minimal details about the expenditures. My hope is that our audit will finally give taxpayers the full picture of the how and why of the RSA’s decisions to spend more than $16 million in the failed bid to keep the Rams.”
The audit will also look at the distribution and use of the funds obtained from the Rams relocation settlement, specifically whether decisions handling the funds may have caused the St. Louis region to lose out on millions of dollars in interest earnings.
The auditor’s office says people may provide confidential information for consideration during the audit via phone at 800-347-8597, email at moaudit@auditor.mo.gov or online.
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