St. Louis ? Building the St. Louis Cardinals a new home in the city’s downtown remains a possibility, Mayor Francis Slay said Wednesday, but only if the club isn’t “greedy” and agrees to a deal with the city that is unlikely to financially match any offer made by Illinois.

“I don’t know if we’ll compete dollar for dollar with Illinois,” Slay said. “But I think we’ll be able to put together a proposal that will make sense, that will be good for the taxpayers, and if the Cardinals are not greedy, I’m confident we’ll strike an agreement that will keep them here.”

Slay’s comments came one day after Cardinals’ president Mark Lamping said the team, which has called the city home for more than a century, has drafted a nearly complete agreement, in principle, for financing construction of a new ballpark on the Mississippi River’s east side.

Since the Missouri Legislature adjourned in May without approving the state’s share of an agreement to build the team a new downtown stadium, the Cardinals actively have pursued other options, including several Illinois sites.

Lamping again met with Illinois Gov. George Ryan and other state leaders on Monday, and said the team could decide where to build a replacement for Busch Stadium within two weeks.

“The ballpark will open in 2006,” Lamping said Wednesday. “For that to happen, we probably need a deal done by the end of the year.”

Ryan spokesman Dennis Culloton said Wednesday he could not discuss the plan’s details, but acknowledged the governor is “very interested” in luring the Cardinals across the Mississippi River.

“They would be a major economic development opportunity, and our staff and the governor have worked over the past several months to market Illinois to the Cardinals as they’ve been working on their long-term plans,” Culloton said.

Lamping cautioned that any deal reached with Ryan would require approval of the Illinois Legislature, something the team and stadium supporters in Missouri were unable to get in Jefferson City this year.

The stadium deal that died in the Missouri Statehouse would have replaced Busch Stadium with a $346 million downtown park build largely with public money from the state, city and St. Louis County.

Slay said the city’s current effort is aimed at changing the team’s business environment, specifically the city’s 12.6 percent tax on ticket sales, which is more than double the industry average.

“We also want to bring them more even with the taxes other businesses pay in St. Louis,” Slay said. “If we do that, it will be more advantageous for them to go ahead and find a way to build this with private money and private financing.”

Lamping expressed doubts such a private arrangement, including the reduction in ticket taxes, could be prepared in time, especially if it requires voter or legislative approval.

“The practical implication is that adds another year to the project,” Lamping said. “Those are risks that are very difficult for the Cardinals to accept.”

Slay said Wednesday he has yet to use the word “greedy” in his conversation with Bill DeWitt Jr., the Cardinals’ principal owner, but has said any deal reached with the city must be a good deal for taxpayers.

“This isn’t just about saving a baseball team,” Slay said. “But I will tell you I’m going to do everything I can to help avoid any situation of them going to Illinois because it would be a hole in downtown.”

At St. Louis’ Union Station mall on Wednesday, many Cardinals fans said the possible move to Illinois might discourage them from making the trip over often-clogged bridges.

Others said the Cardinals were using a hardball marketing tactic threatening to move the hometown team at a time Cardinals fans are energized by their team’s closing in on a division title.

“I can’t sympathize anymore with all the threats, about how we should have to pay for this new stadium,’ said John Eilermann, 66, of O’Fallon in suburban St. Louis. When it comes to asking taxpayers to help fund a new ballpark, “I guess it’s the wrong time.”