Things have quieted down lately in the public back and forth over negotiations to renovate the Edward Jones Dome. The discussion reached a fever pitch earlier this month when the St. Louis Rams' plans for the Dome were revealed by the Missouri Attorney General, and estimated to cost upwards of $700 million. On Friday, Kitty Ratcliffe, CVC president, put the onus of the team's future in owner Stan Kroenke's lap during an interview with KMOX.

Asked about the team staying in St. Louis, Ratcliffe replied:

"I think we can make that happen if the Rams really want to stay in St. Louis. Ultimately, that's what it's all about. Do they want to be here or not want to be here?"

Ratcliffe did offer a more moderate tone on the matter, one befitting of a representative involved in sensitive negotiations. It was a contrast to the public dialog last week, when Mayor Francis Slay dispatched aide Jeff Rainford to distribute threatening talking points, a performance he capped off with a suggestion for sports reporters to stay out of the Dome business.

Ratcliffe expressed optimism that the two sides would be able to find a reasonable solution. She added that any new sources of public funding would have to get the blessing of voters.

The battle over the future of the Edward Jones Dome just started, reaching a fever pitch with the release of the St. Louis Rams' plans for renovation and the CVC's $700 million cost estimate for that plan. On Thursday, a familiar player in the Rams' stadium conversation entered the mix, the site of the shuttered Chrysler plant in Fenton, Mo.

Fenton mayor Dennis Hancock told KMOX on Thursday that the 300 acres of America's abandoned industrial promise would make a good location for a stadium and the Rams' new home. To be clear, Hancock was not actively campaigning for that to happen. The Dome fight is a long way from scouting for new locations.

The former plant sits near the intersection of I-44 and 270, prominent roads in the metro area. Space for a facility and parking is also readily available, though public transit, already pretty limited, is absent. Comparatively speaking, the 300 acres are roughly the size of Chavez Ravine in Los Angeles, home of Dodger Stadium and the surrounding parking lots.

Stadium and arena construction lately has shifted back toward downtown urban areas, after decades in which American expanded outward into the suburbs. Missouri loves its sprawl and Kroeke's real estate business owes a chunk of its fortunes to suburban strip developments, so this might be worth keeping an eye on down the road.

Expect the Feton site to be a minor player in the ongoing discussions over the Dome.

We knew all along, after watching the most recent stadium issue get ugly in Minnesota, that public discourse over the St. Louis Rams' plans for the Edward Jones Dome would eventually go south. If you had odds on things getting ugly after three days, pat your cynical self on the back because you won.

I'm not talking about the media stirring the pot. Stadium politics gives local talk radio something feed the mouth breathers and help to fill the late Spring sports void. Midwestern lifestyle guide St. Louis Magazine added to its collection of pet guides and party pics with this jeremiad claiming bad faith on the part of owner Stan Kroenke, while conveniently glossing over the issues surrounding the dueling LA stadium proposals.

But the first shot from a representative actually involved in the stadium dealings came from Mayor Francis Slay's chief of staff, Jeff Rainford.

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Anyone that follows the Xs and Os of football knows that timing is everything. Timing is also one of those key factors the St. Louis Rams missed out on in recent years. From the team's wide receivers failing to execute basic routes to missed opportunities in the draft, timing is just another fundamental aspect of football the Rams got wrong in the years since the demise of the Greatest Show on Turf. Now, they could really be paying for it ... literally.

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Negotiations over the future of the Edward Jones Dome are still in their infancy. Already, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay is urging rejection of the plan submitted by the St. Louis Rams on May 1, which was revealed on Monday, on the basis of the cost of the project as well as the impact from closing the Dome for up to three years.

The Associated Press reported comments from the Mayor's office on Monday afternoon. The $700 million figure now associated with the Rams' renovation plan comes from an estimate of a construction firm hired to analyze the Rams' plan. The Post-Dispatch reported estimates that put the project between $500 and $750 million.

So already we have competing figures on cost.

Another cost the Mayor's office warned about was the cost of closing the Dome for construction. Chief of staff Jeff Rainford warned that the Dome could be closed for up to three years at a cost of $500 million in lost convention center business.

That's a curious estimation and certainly at the high end of the spectrum. It's not a perfect comparison, but construction on the Vikings' new stadium will force the Metrodome to be closed for one year prior to its scheduled 2016 completion.

The Mayor's office stressed that the Dome talks were in the early stages. Rainford also made it clear that the city is not committed to keeping the Rams in St. Louis at all costs.

"The CVC is taking the middle ground, the commonsense ground, which is we want to keep the Rams in St. Louis but at an affordable price and in a way that makes sense for the people of St. Louis," Rainford said.

In any instance, the Rams and the CVC are likely headed to arbitration. There is one hitch in that process. If the CVC agrees to whatever plan is worked out in arbitration, it locks the Rams into their lease until 2025, while also locking the city into a renovation project.

One thing to remember in this process is that it will drag out over months and possibly years. Even if the two sides reach an agreement in arbitration, any fix calling for public dollars is likely going to involved elected officials at the state and local level.

What the St. Louis Rams want the Edward Jones Dome to be and what the downtown stadium will eventually become may all depend on the money. The Rams' proposal for the Dome, released on Monday morning, was long on details but said nothing about the potential cost. A report from KSDK News says the CVC estimate for the renovations exceeds $700 million.

That number, if it proves to be accurate, could become the focal point in the negotiations over Dome renovations and a public debate taking place along side those talks.

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The public got its first look at the St. Louis Rams' vision for the Edward Jones Dome on Monday. The Missouri Attorney General's office released the very comprehensive plan which had been the subject of a Sunshine Law dispute. Despite the documents being made public, the team is not commenting.

Rams' COO Kevin Demoff released a statement to the media following the release of the Dome proposal on Monday that read:

"The Rams lease with the CVC requires that on March 1, 2015 the Edward Jones Dome and specified components of the stadium rank among the First Tier of NFL stadiums. First Tier is defined as among the Top 8 NFL stadiums. In accordance with the lease, the Rams submitted on April 30th the Rams 2012 Plans to bring the Edward Jones Dome up to the First Tier standard. The First Tier process and procedure is confidential under the parties' agreements. The Rams will continue to respect those confidentiality obligations and will not comment on the Rams' plans or the process we are following."

In other words, the documents may be out there, but the Rams will not be talking about them.

You can read the full proposal from the team here.

If the Convention and Visitors Commission's $124 million proposal for renovating the Edward Jones Dome was a modest fix up to the building, a counter proposal from the St. Louis Rams offers a complete face lift of the place.

Released Monday morning by Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, the Rams' plan spells out a long list of upgrades that would most certainly put the Dome among the "top tier" of NFL facilities. The plan also makes it clear that the team envisions a home capable of hosting a Super Bowl, the NCAA Final Four and a wide range of additional events that could make the Dome a downtown draw. The only thing not included, it seems, in the Rams' counter offer was a price tag; that will be up to the CVC to determine.

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