Rams to LA? Miklasz, others, and discussion

I don’t care where they play. So I don’t want to be seen as taking sides. That’s not my role or why I’m posting in this thread.

I do see some obvious things, obvious to me, anyway, that I want to share.

1) the sale of the Clippers showed that sports franchises in the big market cities are GROSSLY undervalued in current terms. In other words, the Cowboys may be valued at around $2 Billion, but if they were put up for sale? Yeah… they’d go for a LOT MORE than that especially with that new stadium and that very loyal INTERNATIONAL fan base.

2) the Rams moving to Los Angeles would double the value of the team, overnight. That’s really not up for debate. The first NFL franchise in LA will become worth a boatload because the NFL will absolutely demand they have the very best of everything… best stadium, best location…all of it. They’re even likely to hold the next draft in LA. They haven’t announced it, but I’m pretty sure the 2015 NFL draft will be held in LA.

3) St. Louis has NOT been able to establish a loyal fan base over the years. Now, however unfair this may be, the NFL, in evaluating cities, expects fans to come out, win or lose. And they DO for some teams. The Packers sucked for a long time and you still couldn’t pry tickets from a Packer fan. The Steelers went through an extended period of mediocrity (the Tommy Maddox/Kordell Stewart years?) and fans still came out. Now, were they as bad as the Rams extended losing? No. However, the Rams are KNOWN throughout the league as being “home away from home” all too often for teams that travel. Wanna see a bunch of Green Bay fans? Just come to the Ed when the Packers play the Rams. Wanna see a bunch of Cowboy fans? The list goes on. I’m not saying it’s fair or even right. It just is what it is. The people who can afford the good seats are all too happy to sell them to out of towners who show up on TV and make the noise… for the opposing team. And the NFL has noticed. Clearly noticed. As has ownership.

4) St. Louis is broke. Neither the city nor county has money for an NFL team and frankly, for a billionaire to ask them for money is inappropriate. Not that it’ll stop anyone, but still. That said, folks are becoming savvy to this scam of getting cities to pony up hundreds of millions of dollars on 30 year bonds only to potentially lose a team after half that and then be stuck finding an alternate way of paying off those bonds because the stadium can only hold so many “Home Shows” and concerts in a year.

5) Much of the Rams problems in Los Angeles were a direct result of previous ownership. Georgia Frontiere DESPERATELY wanted to be part of Hollywood and they resented her for it. So much so that she couldn’t buy her way in. Literally. Other than fundraisers, she was persona non grata in Hollywood even among feminists who would otherwise bristle at the idea of ostracizing the only female owner in the NFL. When Carol Rosenbloom owned the Rams, they were a darling of Hollywood (granted, they were a better team) and embraced by the city. That’s kind of important because Los Angeles is a star and money driven town. If the Rams go back with monied ownership and the NFL’s glitzy star-powered support, I’d be shocked if the city didn’t rush to embrace them. Finally, stars could see the NFL while filming… Even if they weren’t Rams fans, it’d still for 8 weeks a year be among the hottest tickets in town. And in LA like NY, that MEANS something.

So, it’s always possible that Kroenke will self-finance a stadium in St. Louis. That’s possible. But…why? Other than that the fans would like it… Stan Kroenke is one of the most successful real estate developers in the entire world. Unless he decides to eat a Billion dollars worth of appreciation because of his emotional attachment to keeping the Rams in St. Louis…

I just want the Rams to hoist the Lombardi. I couldn’t care less if they do it as the Topeka Rams. That said, I think at this point, with the NFL appointing an executive specifically to putting a team in LA, Tim Leiweke, former head of AEG that led the Farmers group before is returning to LA reportedly to head up the LA 2024 Olympic bid which would include an NFL football stadium and the momentum that is moving toward LA, I just think it’s bound to happen.

For the loyal St. Louisans, I feel bad. It felt like a gut punch when the Rams left LA and I vowed I would never EVER root for them again and then preseason 1999 came around and I started watching them and the rest is history. It’s not a fait d’accompli, but… imho I don’t see in sussing this out how the Rams stay. None of the “Rams stay” scenarios make any sense to me.

Anyway, that’s my take, right or wrong…

Here’s a very full, very diverse thread on this. It’s the PD board so you have to step over the occasional do-do post, but it’s as complete a thread on this issue as you will find. BUT you have to read the whole thing. Can’t just browse it. Like many discussions, it takes twists and turns, and one side seems to be dominating than the other does.

http://interact.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1050697

I’ll just say that the Rams as an organization has done nothing but try to engage St. Louis fans and improve their product. I think that a public-private partnership is still possible for a new stadium, but that the details will be hidden right up until a plan is complete. I strongly believe that he has been looking at potential stadium sites around St. Louis. I believe that he has postured some to force local and state leaders to engage him in discussion about what it will take to build a premier stadium. He is definitely interested in staying here. And, at the same time, I think it’s always a possibility that he could move the franchise to L.A., but I don’t expect that to happen until after he’s exhausted all of his local options.

And, his decision will have nothing to do with the final record this year. Sorry, but except for a few franchises, when you lose horribly, your fan base erodes. And, this team has been so bad in the last decade, you’d think their fan base would have eroded to nothing. Instead, I see excitement for this team, more excitement than in years. If you replace that gawd-awful convention center stadium with a football stadium experience, fans here will start forking over some more money and showing up. The St. Louis Cardinals baseball team has 81 home games. I know that baseball here is king, but they’ve had down times when attendance dwindled. Now, they have a great organization that puts butts in the seats all season long. I know that a quality Rams’ football product and stadium experience can draw more fans throughout the region. I think that will happen if something can get worked out that doesn’t raise taxes too much.

The one thing hat concerns me is that STL has lost a lot of corporate business offices in recent years. The business climate is such that major corporations are not likely to participate in any type of plan. But, I figure that Kroenke is richer than just about anybody here and can afford to foot the entire private part of any bill for a new stadium experience. Plus, with the way he develops, the stadium would just be part of a larger complex. If he can get the right location, he could develop a regional destination that doesn’t just rely on 8 football games a year … and you just know that he’d book international soccer games and other attractions throughout the year. It’s quite possible that if he can get a good return on investment that there could be minimal public dollars involved, as long as the stadium deal wets SK’s beak quite nicely for any events that t hey can pull in.

“And now……Introducing our own Los Angeles Rams” I will be in the stands! Nothing like seeing a real Rams vs. Niners rivalry game again.