Back to LA, again

Do we name the new St. Louis, MO NFL team, or sue to retain the Rams name? I like the St. Louis Archers. I also like suing to keep the Rams name and the Lombardi Trophy.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by bnw.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by zn.

Hey guys. We have a kind of loose rule here that says there is just 1 LA thread per page. I’ve enforced that before by merging threads, so it’s not fair to those guys in those former merged threads if I don’t maintain consistency with that.

So…pretty soon, this gets merged in with the current big active LA discussion thread.

Rams’ Kroenke has made his LA play, but it’s not time for St. Louis to panic — yet

Howard Balzer
FOX Sports Midwest

http://www.foxsports.com/midwest/story/rams-kroenke-has-made-his-la-play-but-it-s-not-time-for-st-louis-to-panic-yet-010615

ST. LOUIS —

Disaster is around the corner. The sky is falling. Panic is in the air.

That encapsulates the general feelings of the St. Louis football fan base when they woke up Monday morning to learn of the doom that appears certain: Rams owner Stan Kroenke has entered into an agreement with the Stockbridge Capital Group to build an 80,000-seat stadium in Inglewood, Calif. The stadium encompasses roughly half of a $4 billion project at Hollywood Park that will include a performance center with up to 6,000 seats and other amenities that include office space, residential units, a hotel and areas for parks and playgrounds.

Furthermore, according to Chris Meany, senior vice president of Hollywood Park Land Co., construction will begin even without a commitment from an NFL team once a ballot proposal is passed that will green-light the development.

“I’ve heard that there’s a lot of talk about a lot of sites that have been out there for a very long time, for years and years and years. I don’t see shovels in the ground on those projects,” Meany said at a Monday press conference. “We’re putting our shovels in the ground and going forward. This is the location in Los Angeles that for decades was the best location for sports and entertainment.”

None of this should come as a surprise. Ever since it was revealed that Kroenke already owns 60 acres adjacent to Hollywood Park, there have been loud whispers that his Kroenke Group was also involved in talks to develop the Hollywood Park site.

So the suspicions were confirmed. But numerous questions remain unanswered, especially as it relates to the Rams’ future in St. Louis. The NFL wouldn’t comment specifically on the story, only reiterating that there will be no relocation of any team — including the Chargers or Raiders — to Los Angeles this year.

It also hasn’t deterred Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon from strongly pursuing the initiative he announced Nov. 5 and where groundwork has been laid over the last 14 months. Notable in Nixon’s consistent message is that he intends to show that St. Louis merits continued membership in Club NFL — be it as home of the Rams or, should the Rams move on, another team with wandering eyes.

“St. Louis is an NFL city,” Nixon said in a statement issued Monday, “and I am committed to keeping it that way. I look forward to reviewing the recommendations from Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz later this week and working with the St. Louis community to put forward a plan that’s consistent with our principles of protecting taxpayers, creating jobs, and making significant use of private investment to clean up and revitalize underutilized areas.”

Peacock, a former Anheuser-Busch executive, and Blitz, a Clayton attorney, indicated in a Monday statement from their spokesperson that they remain on track to present a new stadium plan — the key to strengthening St. Louis’ bid to keep the Rams.

“The news today is another reminder of how much competition there can be for National Football League franchises and projects that include NFL stadiums, but it does not change our timeline or approach,” the statement read. “It is important to remember this will be a long-term process, but one that the State of Missouri and the St. Louis region are fully pledged to seeing through. We are ready to demonstrate our commitment to keeping the NFL here, and to continue to illustrate why St. Louis has been and will always be a strong NFL market. We will present a plan to Governor Nixon this Friday as scheduled, and we expect that it will meet his criteria, thereby allowing us to share our vision with the public shortly thereafter. In the meantime, we will continue to have discussions with the NFL, as well as Rams leadership.”

Ever since Nixon went public in early November, even in the advisory announcing the conference call, he has emphasized, as did Peacock and Blitz in their statement, the efforts to show that St. Louis is a worthy NFL city. Peacock has made sure to make his case to the league office, keeping Roger Goodell and Co. updated on the plan of attack.

And league relocation rules are tilted heavily toward keeping teams in place. The Rams are obligated to make good-faith efforts to work with St. Louis on a new stadium plan. So, if Nixon’s crack team can present a viable plan, Kroenke can’t just ignore it.

It is important to remember that no NFL team has ever left a city when a legitimate plan for a new stadium had been proposed. It is also important to note Nixon’s stated goal “to clean up and revitalize underutilized areas.”

That’s a clear reference to the proposed area north of Lumiere Place and reaching close to the Stan Musial Bridge that is expected to include mixed-use development around the stadium that Kroenke would likely be a part of. It might not be as grandiose as Los Angeles, but, hey, we are what we are.

The reality is that now is not the time to panic. Kroenke always had leverage and now could have even more with the Inglewood plan becoming very public in the same week that Nixon will see the fruits of Peacock and Blitz’s labor. All along, everyone knew the only chance we have is to present a plan that will open the eyes of those who make the decisions on relocation requests.

Lookin’ good! Flip through our photo album of NFL cheerleaders.

Admittedly, Kroenke is turning the screws on St. Louis already, making big news in Los Angeles while remaining invisible here. If he has sincere intentions of keeping the team in St. Louis, he has a funny way of showing it. But unless he plans to do as he pleases and the league office be damned, the ball isn’t entirely in his court. And soon we’ll see the strength of the city’s plan to make him play ball.

Of course, there have been those within NFL ownership who wondered whether Kroenke might “go rogue” at some point, so we can’t discount that possibility. There are those who believe he plans to move with or without league approval, knowing he holds the trump card: a solution to the league’s long-standing Los Angeles stadium problem.

Meanwhile, we can only sit back and watch the high-stakes game that Kroenke enjoys playing as he continues to collect real estate and teams. No one, it seems, can top him from having his cake and eating it, too. After all, he’s a billionaire.

zn wrote:

Hey guys. We have a kind of loose rule here that says there is just 1 LA thread per page. I’ve enforced that before by merging threads, so it’s not fair to those guys in those former merged threads if I don’t maintain consistency with that.

So…pretty soon, this gets merged in with the current big active LA discussion thread.

This thread is about names, not venues or ownership groups. Plus it is not about LA. It is entirely about St. Louis.

bnw wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>zn wrote:</div>
Hey guys. We have a kind of loose rule here that says there is just 1 LA thread per page. I’ve enforced that before by merging threads, so it’s not fair to those guys in those former merged threads if I don’t maintain consistency with that.

So…pretty soon, this gets merged in with the current big active LA discussion thread.

This thread is about names, not venues or ownership groups. Plus it is not about LA. It is entirely about St. Louis.

Yeah, its about name possibilities. Probably should move my Bernie article though. I wasnt sure where it would fit
so i put it here 🙂

There may very well be law suits galore before all this LA-St.Louis stuff is over.

I like the Saint Louis Jazz,
myself.
They could have a mean sinister saxophone
on their helmets. Or Charlie Parker.

w
v

That is possible and isn’t there a NBA team with that name?

Just about anything but Stallions.

You know, Missouri was almost called the Cave State. Maybe the St. Louis Spelunkers. Or, Cavers.

Dak wrote:

Just about anything but Stallions.

You know, Missouri was almost called the Cave State. Maybe the St. Louis Spelunkers. Or, Cavers.

I didn’t like the Stallions either. For Louisville fine. St. Louis, no.

When we’re kids and you have to stomach the spoiled brat who always has the best toy to play with to being an “adult” sports fan supporting the billionaire brat’s football team. Nothing changes.

When I say “LA” its a euphemism and so let’s call it the “will the Rams move what will/can we do and/or what will happen” thread. I have to be consistent. Don’t want the guys who were moved before to think I play favorites.

Team names for a different NFL team in St. Louis, please. Or should St. Louis sue to keep the Rams name and records like Cleveland did with the Browns?

it’d be pretty funny if kroenke and khan traded teams, and the jaguars moved to los angeles.

ha ha ha ha!

i mean it has happened before.

bnw wrote:

St. Louis Caverns? Not bad.

St. Louis Ribs

Zooey wrote:

There’s a good chance that our little posting communities will suffer some significant and memorable turnover in the next 24 months. I don’t think Kroenke considered that before making his move.

Well, maybe we should think about
banning Kroenke.

…and yes, this is fascinating stuff. It
certainly has my attention now, and I was
bored to tears with the topic a week ago.

If they move to LA were are gonna have
to also think about putting
an image of a
drunken-reveling-Grits on the Header.

One thing about a move back to LA
that would bring a smile to my face
is the thought of Georgia rolling
over in her grave.
…did i just post that out-loud. O dear.

w
v

• This reply was modified 9 years, 11 months ago by wv.

21Dog wrote:

bnw wrote:
St. Louis Caverns? Not bad.

St. Louis Ribs

Oh yeah!