Rams stadium update

[sutz]

I actually feel bad for the Rams fans. We almost ended up with the Hawks in LA. How did we feel about that then? I know it's just talk right now but as a Rams fan you would have to be nervous.

Sure, but Rams started in Cleveland, went to Chicago, and then to LA before their stint in St Louis. Feel for their fans, too.

That stadium is brand new. Why blow another $700 mill on 'renovations.' It's more extortion by the NFL owners for public money.

Ok, but the fans the Rams had in Cleveland and Chicago are all dead now. There are actually still a huge number of Rams fans down here in SoCal. St. Louis used to be the Cardinals and before that they were in Chicago too.

The Rams would be the most likely candidate, but like Cali said, from what I hear there just doesn't seem to be that much push for it.

I lived in SoCal for 30 years. I know. Georgia Frontiere was the real life person from which most female sports owners in movies were modeled. She pretty much trashed the team to force the move to St Louis.

But no, local support for the NFL would be tepid, at best. They probably still remember getting burned by Al Davis, as well as the Lambs. It was kind of a bad decade for the NFL in LA.

 

[LawlessHawk]

Ok, but the fans the Rams had in Cleveland and Chicago are all dead now. There are actually still a huge number of Rams fans down here in SoCal. St. Louis used to be the Cardinals and before that they were in Chicago too.

The Rams would be the most likely candidate, but like Cali said, from what I hear there just doesn't seem to be that much push for it.

I lived in SoCal for 30 years. I know. Georgia Frontiere was the real life person from which most female sports owners in movies were modeled. She pretty much trashed the team to force the move to St Louis.

But no, local support for the NFL would be tepid, at best. They probably still remember getting burned by Al Davis, as well as the Lambs. It was kind of a bad decade for the NFL in LA.

Tepid seems to be a good description. I'd like to see the Rams move back as it would get me one more Hawks game per year closer to home. But apparently they're not taking my "needs" into consideration.

 

[SharkHawk]

All of my friends from LA are putting these conditions down like "We don't want a team unless it's the Raiders". Of course.... that is probably because I'm 40 and we were teenagers when the Raiders were there and in there heyday, so that is who they voted for. They grew up on LA Raiders football (which still sounds weird to me, and always did). I was stunned though when they went back to Oakland. To the same crappy stadium with just a new third deck on it. Bizarre.

I am sure somewhere Al Davis' ghost is screaming that he owns the rights to the LA Market and he'll decide who goes there if they pay him an expansion fee sized payout for the market.

 

[LawlessHawk]

Ahh yes, to this day in SoCal it is required that if you're a Raider fan you must own a silver car or truck with black trim and/or stripes with a massive Raider sticker of some kind covering the entire back window. Extra points for trunk or hood stickers and flying dual Raider window flags year-around.

 

[candyman4881]

I have done quite a bit of research on the current Rams lease situation, and honestly, I am not that concerned about the Rams leaving. I could bore you all with the details, but I will put it simply that LA is a mess right now, and does not have a stadium suitable for the NFL and I doubt there is another city that is willing to build the Rams a new stadium 100% on taxpayer money. The Rams have a sweetheart lease in St Louis right now, paying only $500,000 per year and keep all gameday revenue and a good portion of non-Rams events at the dome.

There are two stadium proposals that are "shovel ready" in LA, however neither Farmers Field nor the City of Industry site is acceptable for the NFL - both would require a current owner to give up partial ownership to either Anshutz or Roski, and then pay a relocation fee (which by some accounts could be a few hundred million dollars) to move to LA. Some have stated that Kroenke could build his own stadium, however any other location in LA would require years of governmental, environmental, and regulatory approval before a stadium could even begin to start construction. And the costs would be dramatic, potentially close to $2 billion with relocation fees and construction of a new stadium. This is in a league where 90% of revenue is shared between all teams. It does not make economic sense for Kroenke to do so. I have stated this since day one of the "Rams moving to LA" rumors - if LA was this gold mine that some make it out to be, the NFL would have a team in LA.

In my opinion, I think we will see a Minnesota/Atlanta type of deal in St Louis where the public/Rams/NFL G4 loan (which is paid back by revenues that are eventually shared anyways so it works much like a grant) all contribute for a new stadium in St Louis - timeframe is probably in the next 2-3 years as stadium deals are not quick to resolve.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

New plan: Missouri trades the city of St. Louis to California for the cities of Sacramento and Stockton. Win-win for NFCW fans that hate long intra-division road trips and the state of California. Big loss for Missouri, but screw 'em.

 

[Sac]

New plan: Missouri trades the city of St. Louis to California for the cities of Sacramento and Stockton. Win-win for NFCW fans that hate long intra-division road trips and the state of California. Big loss for Missouri, but screw 'em.

Make that Stockton and Modesto