Edward Jones Dome

In 1988, for the first time since 1960, the City of St. Louis lacked a professional football team. After the Cardinals departure, officials began to seek either an expansion franchise or get a team to relocate to the city. In 1991, the NFL announced they would expand by two teams. Five cities were in the running for the two teams including Charlotte, St. Louis, Baltimore, Memphis and Jacksonville. St. Louis was considered a front-runner, because it was the largest city without a football team.  By the early 1990s, a new stadium-convention center was planned in order to show how committed the city was to bringing football back to St. Louis. In spring 1993 construction began on a 66,000 dome stadium in downtown St. Louis. It appeared that the city was a lock to land an expansion team with construction underway on a stadium. However in October 1993, St. Louis's dreams of attracting an expansion franchise were shattered when the NFL awarded Charlotte and Jacksonville teams.

After not being awarded an expansion franchise, St. Louis began to court teams in other cities for relocation. Teams mentioned included the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams. All three teams sought new stadiums in their respective cities. The Rams played at Anaheim Stadium, a multipurpose stadium they had shared with the California Angels (MLB) since 1980. Owner Georgia Frontiere wanted a new football only stadium for the Rams. By the early 1990s, the team was unable to gather support for a new stadium in Los Angeles and began exploring options to relocate to another city. The Rams almost moved to Baltimore, but since a new stadium was under construction in St. Louis, Frontiere moved the team to St. Louis after the 1994 season.

Construction of the Rams new stadium in St. Louis was expected to be completed by the 1995 season, but delays forced the team to play at Busch Stadium for several games. The St. Louis Rams' first game at the Edward Jones Dome was on November 12, 1995. Over 66,000 seats in three tiers circle the entire field. Edward Jones Dome has 6,300 club seats and 125 luxury suites. The exterior of the stadium is made up of brick and glass. Fans enter the stadium through one of the four entry points in each corner of the building, each with its own spacious glass atrium and escalators. A ring of fame is located inside the stadium containing the retired numbers of Rams Hall of Famers. The stadium has changed names several times, from the TWA Dome to the Dome at America's Center, to its present day name, the Edward Jones Dome. Edward Jones purchased the naming rights in January 2002, for $2.65 million a year. It is part of the expanded America's Center convention complex. This complex, along with Edward Jones Dome, hosts many other events besides football, including concerts and conventions. The stadium can be transformed into a convention center very quickly. A "Magic Turf" system allows the football field to be rolled up in an hour. The lighting gridiron can also be lowered to make the area more unique. After the 2004 season, the Rams installed Fieldturf and replaced the video/scoreboards with a new High Definition one. In 2009, reports surfaced that Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez want to sell the team, preferring to sell to a local investor in St. Louis. Reports indicate that if they are unable to find a local buyer, they may sell the Rams to an outside buyer who could relocate the team. The team's contract with St. Louis mandates that the dome be among the nicest 25 percent of stadiums in the NFL. The Rams lease at the Edward Jones Dome ends in 2014.