The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod will sell its classical music station, KFUO (99.1 FM), to Gateway Creative Broadcasting, the LCMS and Gateway announced Tuesday, for $18 million plus about $8 million in interest.

When the sale is finalized in March, pending the approval of the Federal Communications Commission and transfer of the license, it will end a 61-year tradition of classical music broadcasting under church ownership in St. Louis. KFUO will continue broadcasting in its classical format until then.

Des Peres-based Gateway, as Joy FM, broadcasts Christian contemporary music. It presently owns two rural "rimshot" stations with weak signals that do not penetrate most of the St. Louis area: KPVR (94.1 FM) in Bowling Green, Mo., and KHZR (97.7 FM) in Potosi.

The LCMS, which was prompted to sell after facing multimillion-dollar shortfalls in recent years, will finance the sale with a 10-year balloon note. According to the synod, Gateway will pay $150,000 immediately, $1.35 million at closing and smaller interest payments until a final payment of $14 million in the 10th year, for a total of about $26 million. Gateway also owes $600,000, due in March 2011, on the two small stations.

Joy FM is listener-supported. Said general manager Sandi Brown, "We are comfortable with this. This is the same way we've funded our ministry in the past," both acquisitions and day-to-day expenses.

The classical station was never advertised as being for sale, and the transaction has been conducted in secrecy. Missouri Synod Treasurer Tom Kuchta and board member Kermit Brashear, an Omaha, Neb., lawyer and politician, spearheaded the sale; Brashear conducted the negotiations.

The board decided early in its discussions that it wanted to sell to a Christian organization, but the Rev. Dr. Paul Devantier, senior vice president at Concordia Seminary, said Brashear ignored a Lutheran group that was interested in buying the station and retaining the classical music format.

Another group, the Circle of Friends headed by Noemi Neidorff and Donna Wilkinson, also sought to purchase the station.

According to Neidorff and Wilkinson, Brashear did not fulfill their requests for a copy of a term sheet for the 100,000-watt station. Instead, he proposed they buy Joy FM's two small stations, a high-definition radio channel and "intellectual property" for $5 million. HD requires special equipment. Steve Robinson, a radio industry expert who works at WFMT-FM in Chicago, calls the format "dead on arrival."

Brashear said: "In the arena of deal-making, you can either give a term sheet, or you can hold an auction. I elected to hold an auction," in which Gateway was the high bidder.

Paul L. Maier, the LCMS second vice president and a history professor at Western Michigan University, said the board had ignored the wishes of 41 prominent church leaders who signed a petition asking the board to wait for the full synod's meeting next July. At its August meeting, the board turned over full authority to sell the station to Brashear. No discussions within the synod were ever held. "I'm not subject to a public examination by dissidents," said Brashear.

Devantier questioned the terms of the sale and what advantage there might be to the LCMS. "There's simply not a lot of cash being transferred," he said. "The church body is making it very easy for (Gateway) to purchase the station, offering to finance it." He suggested that the same deal could have been offered to the Lutheran group.

'A HUGE LOSS'

"It's a sad day at the radio station," said KFUO general manager Dennis Stortz, adding that he and his staff will continue with business as usual until the sale is finalized.

Fred Bronstein, president of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, a frequent partner of Classic99, called the sale "a tragic loss for the city and its wealth of cultural institutions." On Tuesday afternoon, the orchestra sent an e-mail blast to nearly 20,000 people, suggesting that they contact the LCMS and the FCC with their opinions.

Other arts representatives spoke out against the sale.

"Most of our ticket sales come from Classic99," said Alayne Smith, executive director of the Bach Society of St. Louis. "That will be a huge loss to us. It's almost like there's a death in the family."

Said Linda Ryder, executive director of the St. Louis Chamber Chorus: "It's a major blow to the arts community. This further damages our big-city status, just as if we were losing a sports team."

Brown said Joy FM would be "open to discussion" with KFUO's supporters for an HD channel to possibly continue broadcasting classical music.

"We are mindful of the classical format," she said. "We would like to cooperate and explore all options and do what we can to be part of the solution."