The city of St. Louis and other regional groups have filed a lawsuit against the National Football League and all its teams and owners, claiming the league violated its relocation guidelines when it allowed the Rams to leave the city.
The city, St. Louis County and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, in a lawsuit filed on Wednesday in the Circuit Court of St. Louis City, are seeking damages totalling more than $1 billion (A$1.34b) for the move by the Rams to Los Angeles from Missouri last year.
A spokesman for the NFL could not immediately be reached for comment.
The charges in the lawsuit include breach of contract, unjust enrichment, fraudulent misrepresentation and business interference.
The city and other plaintiffs in a statement claim the NFL, the most popular US sports league, failed to follow its own guidelines for franchise relocation even as it induced the city to spend "considerable time and money to generate a compelling new stadium development."
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The plaintiffs said the loss of the Rams hurt the city and region and benefited the league and its owners, who received a $550 million relocation fee, according to the lawsuit. Meanwhile, the value of the Rams increased by nearly $700 million.
Among other damages cited by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit were city and county bond obligations totalling $360 million, the loss of more than $100 million in net proceeds, $30 million for the installation of a new playing surface and other renovations, the loss of state revenue of more than $15 million and about $7.5 million in lost property taxes.
The city said it also contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to attract and retain an NFL team over the past 20 years, the lawsuit said. The sports complex authority also spent more than $17 million during efforts to build a new stadium for the Rams.
