re: the STL rams are crazy

The whole stadium biz in sports is fairly amazing when you take a step back and think about it. The key to the ability of sports franchises to demand a stadium at public expense is the illusion of scarcity... but there is no longer anything resembling a scarcity (there is a surplus)

Yes, Los Angeles doesn't have a football team right now but all of the major sports (including football when you notice the Jags) are over-expanded into more markets than can really support their product.

What that means is states and cities around the United States have failed to understand their unrealized negotiating power. If most of the states and major cities made a mutually beneficial compact to stop paying for stadiums from this point forward they could actually do it pretty successfully. The major sports demanding newer and better stadiums can make a business decision to pay for or not pay for those things themselves if the luxury boxes etc are really worth it to them. The major cities would remain attractive venues for franchises because there are only so many places where you can draw big crowds and make big profits.

This would have the added benefit of making various franchises truly invest in their communities in more concrete ways instead of just demanding that the community invest in them.