Turf Show Times

The St. Louis Rams and their landlords, the Convention and Visitors Commission, have reached an agreement for the Rams to play one of their 2012 home games in London, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

All they had to do was make the Dome more accessible during the season to large gatherings like political nominating conventions, Billy Graham rallies, and others groups lucrative to downtown businesses and area strippers.

The deal expands the CVC's ability to schedule conventions at the Edward Jones Dome between the months of August and December, the NFL season. The CVC now has two weeks during that six month stretch to schedule conventions at the Dome, up from just one one week per month prior to this agreement.

The ability to bring additional conventions aligns with the Rams' stated intentions of making the facility more of a destination for non-football events. More conventions should inject at least a little extra cash into downtown's economy, not to mention the East side strip clubs. That provision runs through 2015, and the CVC gets a total of three extra weeks to use during that six month span from 2016 through 2025.

Another notable detail in the agreement is that the Rams will pay seasonal workers the wages for the lost home game.

The agreement only covers the Rams' London game planned for 2012, not their games at Wembley Stadium for 2013 and 2014, part of their initial deal with the NFL. Another agreement will have to be worked out in order for the Rams to play those game. Ticket sales for the team's London game against the Patriots this year have already started.

If you are looking for signs of a larger deal between the Rams and the CVC on the Dome lease, we would advise against it. This is a quick fix for this season's London game and the cash the Rams will receive from playing it.