Missouri Group to Meet With Rams : Business: Former senator leads group in latest bid to woo team from Anaheim.

A St. Louis delegation, headed by former Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton, is scheduled to meet with the Rams in Los Angeles today to resume negotiations aimed at getting the team away from Southern California.

The city’s proposal is expected to include plans for raising at least $60 million through a permanent seat-licensing program in the new $258-million, 70,000-seat domed stadium, which is under construction in St. Louis.

Fans would be asked to pay a one-time fee for the right to purchase season tickets, a plan the expansion Carolina Panthers recently used to raise $142 million to construct their stadium.

Funds generated in St. Louis would be used to pay some $30 million the Rams still owe for Anaheim Stadium improvements made in 1980, about $15 million for a new practice facility and an estimated $15 million in NFL relocation fees. The St. Louis offer may also include moving up the completion date for the stadium from late October, 1995, to early September.

“I think they’re genuinely interested in the prospect (of moving),” Eagleton said. “I don’t think this is just an exercise they’re going through.”

Eagleton also is convinced that St. Louis is in a good position to get back the NFL team the city lost when the Cardinals left for Tempe, Ariz., after the 1987 season. Baltimore also has made a lucrative offer to the Rams, and an Orange County group has made a significant effort to keep the team.

“I’m optimistic,” Eagleton said. “I think it’s between us and Anaheim. We’re neck and neck, and we’ve got a lead over Baltimore.”

Eagleton said he expects a decision after mid-November.

“They’re not going to make an instant decision,” Eagleton said. “They’re going to take some time and they’ll probably have some follow-up questions for us.”