ST. LOUIS - If St. Louis loses its NFL team, experts say itd have a small potatoes economic impact. The blow to regions psyche, they say, would be far greater.The beleaguered fan base took another hit on Monday, when Rams owner Stan Kroenke joined in a development group thats planning an 80,000-seat stadium in the Los Angeles suburbs. Yes, the Rams appear to be going back west, perhaps in 2016, just two decades after St. Louis swiped the team from L.A.Itd make St. Louis a two-time loser in NFL circles — the Cardinals bolted for Arizona in 1987. Though St. Louis and Missouri officials are fighting to keep a team — be it the Rams or another one — even going so far as to unveil a design for a new riverfront stadium, it appears at this point to be a longshot.Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon knows there are precious few franchises in the nations favourite sport.Were one of 32 in the world, Nixon said. Its very valuable to our state.But that value is more about civic pride, not economics, economists and city leaders say. If you want to be a major-league city, you want to have an NFL team, St. Louis Sports Commission President Frank Viverito said.And losing the Rams would pale in comparison financially to some of the other businesses that have left the region at a cost of thousands of high-paying jobs. In the 20 years since the team arrived, St. Louis lost a Ford plant and two Chrysler plants; Trans World Airlines folded into American Airlines; McDonnell Douglas was purchased by Boeing; andMay Department Stores was bought by Macys. Even Anheuser-Busch — synonymous with St. Louis — was sold.The Rams, meanwhile, employ about 200 people full-time, less than 1 per cent of the 26,000-plus employed by BJC HealthCare, the regions largest employer. The teams annual revenue, about $225 million, ranks low among both NFL teams and public companies in the region.As for the economic benefit of home games, the Rams again come up short when compared to the NHLs Blues and the citys dominant team, the St. Louis Cardinals — mostly because hockey and baseball seasons have so many more games, said Glenn MacDonald, economist at the Olin Business School at Washington University.Counting preseason and post-season games, the Blues typically play at home about 50 times a year, drawing fans from nearby rival teams Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks.And no team in the region comes close to the economic impact generated by the Cardinals, who draw more than 3 million fans a year to 81 regular-season home games. Their fan base is spread throughout the Midwest and South, and with mostly three- and four-game series, downtown hotels fill up.The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association has estimated the Cardinals annual economic value in the $320 million to $350 million range, depending on how far they go into the post-season.Rams games are different. The fan base is mostly local — unlike the Packers, Cowboys or Steelers, the Rams have little following outside of the area (except for die-hard fans who remain in California) — so they dont stay at hotels and arent much into tailgating.The Rams also play only two preseason and eight regular-season games at home. And playoffs? The Rams havent had a winning season in 11 years and havent hosted a playoff game since 2003.Each football games economic impact is in the neighbourhood of $10 million, MacDonald said. It really boils down to small potatoes, he said. There are lots of reasons to be interested in the Rams, but the direct economic effect is relatively minor.Major-league teams, like the Rams, end up becoming part of your civic identity, said Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay.We have the Arch, the St. Louis Symphony, the Cardinals and Rams and Blues, and that becomes part of who we are, he said.St. Louis certainly isnt giving up. A committee appointed by Nixon announced plans Friday for a new open-air stadium along the Mississippi River. The stadium, expected to cost between $860 million and $985 million, would built through a combination of team and NFL funding, seat licensing and public funding already in place. Nixon and city leaders agree new public money is not an option.We want an NFL franchise, but not at any cost, Rainford said.___Associated Press writers R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis and Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report.
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. Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss.
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. Ending a nine-game losing streak? That gave the Milwaukee Bucks veteran forward a reason to smile.
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. Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina.Another night and another elimination game for the Canadiens. Montreal looks to stay alive once more and force a seventh game back at the Bell Centre on Saturday when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final tonight. You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 690 and TSN.ca/Montreal at 8pm et/5pm pt. Also, TSN.ca features live streaming of the Bell Centre viewing party in Montreal and the post-game news conferences with head coaches Michel Therrien and Alain Vigneault. Down 3-1 in their series on Tuesday, Rene Bourque notched his first career postseason hat trick as the Habs pulled out an entertaining 7-4 win in Game 5. "It was a happy moment, especially when this team was facing elimination," Bourque said. "Everyone was ready for this game in a tense situation. After they tied it, we had to settle down. We had to make it work again to bounce back. Weve been here before; we have to relax and get back to the basics instead of running around." Bourque wasnt the only prominent Canadien on the scoreboard, as Max Pacioretty and Alex Galchenyuk added a goal and assist each for the Canadiens with additional tallies from Tomas Plekanec and David Desharnais. Andrei Markov added three helpers, Lars Eller and Dale Weise assisted on a pair of scoress apiece, while Dustin Tokarski stopped 23 shots in the victory.dddddddddddd. Cam Talbot surrendered two goals on eight shots in relief of Henrik Lundqvist, who exited after yielding four goals on 19 chances. Derek Stepan returned from a broken jaw to net a pair of goals for the Rangers, who battled back from a 4-1 deficit but get another chance to close out the series on home ice in Game 6 on Thursday. The Rangers will be without the services of John Moore for the rest of the series, after the defenceman received a two-game suspension for a high hit on Montreals Dale Weise late in the third period. Former Canadiens Raphael Diaz, who hasnt played yet in this series, could draw in for Moore. Weise will not play tonight, while defenceman Alexei Emelin will be a game-time decision. Emelin missed Game 5 and was replaced in the lineup by Nathan Beaulieu. Brandon Prust, who got his own two-game ban for a similar hit to Stepan in Game 3, returns to the lineup. With 10 postseason wins, the 2013-14 Canadiens have gone further than any Montreal team in the playoffs since their Stanley Cup winning run in 1993. The Rangers, playing in their third conference final in 20 years, are looking to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since Mark Messiers team won a championship in 1994.
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