Could the Cardinals Come Home? Why St. Louis Could Be Back in the NFL Relocation Conversation

By Derek King

ST. LOUIS — There is no relocation application sitting on the desk of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The Arizona Cardinals have not announced plans to leave the desert, and no public indication suggests owner Michael Bidwill is preparing to move the franchise back to Missouri. But if the NFL's next great relocation story ever begins to take shape, St. Louis would be difficult to ignore.

The reason is simple: the Cardinals and St. Louis have unfinished history.

Before they became Arizona's NFL franchise, the Cardinals spent nearly three decades in St. Louis. The franchise arrived in 1960 and remained in the city through the 1987 season before moving to Arizona. The departure came after the Cardinals failed to secure a new stadium commitment, with the organization ultimately receiving promises that a new facility would eventually be built in the Phoenix area, which was not agreed upon and completed until 2006 in the greater Glendale area.

Bill Bidwill was sold on the idea that Phoenix would build him a new state-of-the-art stadium right away; they didn't. Bidwill entertained the idea in the late 90s and early 2000s of moving the Big Red to the LA market after the exodus of the Rams and Raiders. The NFL blocked him, and it spooked Arizona officials enough to get Bidwill to the table to discuss terms on a new venue.

Nearly four decades later, the idea of the Cardinals returning to St. Louis remains largely hypothetical. But the circumstances surrounding both cities make the possibility an intriguing subject of discussion.

Arizona has invested heavily in staying put

The biggest obstacle to a Cardinals return is also the most obvious: Arizona is building for the Cardinals' future.

In February, the organization broke ground on a massive new performance center and headquarters in north Phoenix. The Cardinals purchased 217 acres for $136 million, with the football portion of the development expected to include three natural-grass practice fields, an indoor fieldhouse, expanded locker rooms, medical and training facilities, and new business offices.

The football operation is scheduled to move into the complex following training camp in 2028. The surrounding development is expected to include residential, commercial, and entertainment components.

That is not the profile of a franchise preparing to abandon Arizona.

In fact, Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill described the project as a "multi-generational decision," while new head coach Mike LaFleur called the facility evidence of an ownership commitment to the organization.

Any serious relocation discussion would therefore have to overcome substantial evidence pointing in the opposite direction. The Cardinals are building their future in Arizona.

But relocation is not the same thing as a practice facility

The more interesting question is not whether the Cardinals are leaving Arizona today.

They aren't.

The question is what could happen years down the road if the franchise's stadium, business, or ownership circumstances changed.

The team's lease at its current home runs until 2036. That doesn't mean that the Cardinals cannot break the lease. Anyone in St. Louis can attest to that notion. The NFL has made it clear with past relocations that it's all about the Benjamins.

That's where St. Louis comes in.

The Cardinals currently play at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, one of the NFL's more recognizable modern facilities. The stadium opened in 2006 and can still host major NFL and entertainment events. The stadium situation, however, is ultimately a long-term business question for every NFL franchise.

Remember, the Cardinals' lease runs out in 2036; that's 30 years. The Rams and the NFL claimed that the Dome was insufficient to play NFL games in by 2015. The Dome was built in 1995. That is only 20 years. The Rams and the NFL had no interest in investing in the Dome or keeping the Rams in St. Louis when L.A. was on the table.

Arizona's existing stadium is not itself evidence of a relocation plan. In fact, current financial and facility arrangements demonstrate that the Cardinals remain tied to the Glendale venue. A 2025 report on State Farm Stadium's finances listed the Cardinals' annual rent at $357,062, increasing 2 percent annually.

For St. Louis, that distinction matters.

A city does not simply need an available football stadium to attract an NFL team. It needs an ownership group willing to move, an acceptable business arrangement, league approval, and a long-term stadium plan.

St. Louis has one piece of that puzzle already sitting downtown.

The Dome is still standing

The Dome at America's Center, formerly known as the Edward Jones Dome, opened in 1995 as part of the region's effort to attract an NFL franchise.

It eventually became home to the Rams, who played there for 21 seasons before moving to Los Angeles following the 2015 season. The building can still host NFL-sized crowds. A recent facility assessment lists football capacity at approximately 67,000 seats and notes that the Dome contains 126 luxury suites. But pointing to the Dome and saying "the stadium is there" overlooks one of the biggest issues facing St. Louis.

The building needs substantial investment.

A 2024 report cited by Sports Business Journal said the Dome could require more than $150 million in repairs and upgrades over the following decade to remain competitive. The facility has already received a roughly $1 million turf replacement, while other systems—including video displays, sound equipment, elevators and escalators—face longer-term capital needs.

The Missouri State Auditor's Office raised similar concerns in a 2025 report, saying inadequate planning had created an uncertain financial future for the Dome and that the facility faced significant future maintenance obligations.

For an NFL franchise, those numbers would matter.

A potential owner considering St. Louis would likely want more than a building that can accommodate 67,000 spectators. The question would be whether the facility could be transformed into a modern NFL revenue generator with premium seating, clubs, hospitality areas, technology, parking, and surrounding development.

St. Louis has already been through this fight

There is another reason a Cardinals relocation conversation would be complicated.

St. Louis and the NFL have history.

When the Rams left for Los Angeles, St. Louis officials and other regional interests sued the NFL, the Rams, and owner Stan "The Grinch" Kroenke. The case eventually produced a $790 million settlement in 2021.

The settlement ended a bitter legal dispute over the Rams' departure and included hundreds of millions of dollars for St. Louis, St. Louis County, and the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority. The city ultimately allocated $280 million of its settlement share, including $30 million designated for expansion of the Dome at America's Center.

That history could cut both ways.

On one hand, St. Louis officials and business leaders have demonstrated a willingness to pursue professional football.

On the other, another NFL ownership group would know that the region has already experienced the enormous political and financial consequences of losing a team.

The lesson from the Rams era is unmistakable: securing an NFL franchise is about far more than selling tickets.

And then there is the market

The St. Louis metropolitan area remains one of the largest American markets without an NFL team.

That doesn't automatically make it an NFL destination.

The league would have to consider existing fan bases, corporate support, television economics, stadium revenue, regional geography, and the willingness of local and state governments to participate in a stadium or infrastructure package.

St. Louis also has something it did not have immediately after the Rams left: a demonstrated appetite for professional football.

The UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks have established a strong presence at the Dome, giving the facility a football tenant and providing evidence that St. Louis fans remain interested in professional football. The Dome's recent turf upgrade was partly intended to keep the building competitive for football and other major events.

That doesn't prove that the city can support an NFL franchise.

But it does provide useful evidence for anyone arguing that football still matters in St. Louis.

Could the Cardinals actually return?

Under NFL rules, relocating a franchise would be a league-level decision, not something an owner could simply announce. Unless you are Stan Kroenke or "Uncle Jerruh" Jerry Jones.

Jones scaled Michael Bidwill during the owners' meeting, where the Rams' relocation was being discussed.

St.“When you guys moved the team from St. Louis to Phoenix — it wasn't about the money?”

Then Jones followed up:

“You did it for the money.” StSt. Louis. LouisLouis

The league has stated that three-fourths of the NFL's member clubs must approve a team move. The league has also said there is no blanket prohibition against moving a team to a particular city; it would evaluate a proposal under the NFL's relocation policies, so they say. The settlement says otherwise.

That means St. Louis would have to compete on the merits of a future relocation proposal.

That's where the Cardinals' history makes the hypothetical particularly fascinating.

The franchise would not be entering an unfamiliar market.

It would be returning to one.

Older St. Louis fans remember the Cardinals playing at Busch Memorial Stadium. Younger fans know the franchise primarily as an Arizona team. A return could potentially create a rare bridge between generations, reconnecting the city with a franchise that once represented St. Louis before leaving for the Southwest.

Yet sentiment alone would never be enough.

The NFL is ultimately a business, and an ownership group would need to see a financial case for St. Louis.

The bigger question may be the next decade

For now, the evidence points toward Arizona, not St. Louis.

The Cardinals are building a new headquarters and performance center. Their football operation remains based in Arizona. State Farm Stadium continues to serve as their home. No publicly announced relocation proposal involves St. Louis. But NFL franchises operate on timelines measured in decades, not seasons.

Stadium agreements expire. Ownership groups change. Cities build new facilities. Markets grow. Markets decline. And opportunities that seem unrealistic at one point can become serious discussions years later.

St. Louis knows that better than most American cities.

The city lost the Rams in 2016 after 21 seasons. It then spent years fighting the NFL in court. The legal battle ended with a $790 million settlement, but the bigger question—whether St. Louis can once again become an NFL city—remained unanswered.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, are not currently looking for a new home. But they have a history in St. Louis that no other current NFL franchise possesses.

If circumstances eventually change in Arizona, if the league's geography evolves, and if St. Louis develops a modern stadium solution, the Cardinals would have a unique option.

They could go somewhere new.

Or they could come home.

For now, that remains a hypothetical.

But in a league where franchise locations can change dramatically over a generation, it is a hypothetical worth watching.