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The city of St. Louis is suing the NFL over the Rams' relocation to Los Angeles 15 months ago. The 52-page lawsuit was filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court by the city, county and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The suit also names the NFL's 32 teams as defendants and seeks unspecified damages and restitution.
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"The Rams, the NFL, through its member teams, and the owners have violated the obligations and standards governing team relocations" because the Rams failed to meet league relocation rules, the suit that was obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch claims.
The league has breached its contractual duties owed the plaintiffs, the suit alleges.
In January 2016, NFL owners approved Rams owner Stan Kroenke's proposed move from St. Louis to the Los Angeles area, which was their home from 1946-94.
The team played its first season back in Los Angeles in 2016 at Memorial Coliseum, finishing with a 4-12 record. The new Inglewood stadium, slated to cost $2.6 billion, is scheduled to open in 2019.
The lawsuit claims St. Louis has lost an estimated $1.85 million to $3.5 million a year in amusement and ticket tax revenue with the departure of the Rams, as well as about $7.5 million in property taxes and "millions" in earning taxes, according to the Post-Dispatch.
