Thank you Governor Jay Nixon (D-MO).
To be fair, this happened long before Nixon became governor. If I remember correctly, the deal for the Jones Dome in STL was a package deal. St. Louis got the dome, KC got a refurb of Arrowhead, and Springfield got something like a minor league ballpark. The two metro areas don’t have quite enough votes in the legislature to impose their will on the rest of the state, so the Springfield bit was vital to make the deal happen.
This time St. Louis knew it was going to finance a new stadium without state help. There was no way the state legislature would kick in money. They didn’t when the Cardinals were looking for state help and the Cards are a lot more beloved than the Rams.