Earlier this month, Rams ownership tried to defuse rumors about a possible sale and/or relocation by saying that “we have every intention of keeping the Rams in St. Louis.”

Whatever their intentions, the city of St. Louis is going to have to work hard between now and 2015 to assure that the team isn’t able to move without penalty. The team will be free to leave the city after 2015 if their venue doesn’t rank in the top 25 percent of the league. With new stadiums opening or going up in Indianapolis, Dallas and East Rutherford, there’s only so much rouge the city can put on the Edward Jones Dome to keep its ranking high enough to meet the lease agreement.

“What do you do to a 20-year-old building to make it the equal of a brand-new $1 billion stadium?” says St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission Chairman Dan Dierdorf (yes, that Dan Dierdorf).

In 2012, the Rams and Dierdorf’s commission will need to submit plans about assuring the stadium remains in top eight. Dierdorf says the city must commit to building a new stadium, which tells you what his plan will look like, but no wheels are yet in motion to create the public chunk of money.