Zooey wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>bnw wrote:</div>
Why can’t the NFL sue Kroenke for not abiding by its own rules? Why can’t NFL owners refuse to play against Kroenke’s team? Wouldn’t take much before Kroenke would have to cave since these projects are always financed on a shoestring and missing substantial revenue at the beginning is usually terminal.

They can.

But they aren’t guaranteed a victory in that lawsuit.

But beyond that…why sue? What would the real motive of the lawsuit be? The NFL says it wants a team in LA, maybe two, and I think they are probably speaking the truth there. Not because an LA team will make the league appreciably richer. But because it’s LA. It’s a good place to have a team. 2nd biggest market; you want that community invested in the NFL. Great place for Super Bowls. It’s LA.

The problem has been that since the mid-80s, people have been trying to build a new stadium there, and 30 years later, there’s still no stadium. There are a couple of projects that are waiting at the stop light…but they aren’t advancing because those guys want to buy a team before they build a stadium. And nobody is selling a team. So…they sit there waiting.

Meanwhile Kroenke has a plan, has the financial backing, and will undoubtedly clear the legal hurdles to build his site. It’s a damn sexy-looking plan, and LA likes sexy. And, frankly, the NFL likes sexy.

So their gonna sue Kroenke to stop him because….they don’t like him personally? Or the way he entered business without kissing their rings first? Yeah, that’s an emotional reaction, and billionaires get over their emotions when they study the balance sheets. The only reason to oppose him is because an owner wants LA himself. But that just isn’t going to be enough to stop him.

I think Mackeyser is right. If it comes down to litigation or relocation fees, the NFL will take the fees.

Someone needs to write a book
about this whole move-to-StLouis/move-to-LA
thing.
Or at least an article in the Atlantic
or New Yorker or Field and Stream
or somethin.

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I think the Ganis audio belongs
in the LA thread, probly.
I dunno. Who am i to say.

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Kurt said he’d be disappointed if the Rams moved;
it would put the St.Louis players in a kind of limbo.
He’d feel a bit like a player without a home:
“I’m always gonna be connected to the St.Louis Rams
and what does that mean if a team picks up and goes
somewhere else…ya kindof feel like a former player without a home…”

Of course this is exactly how Youngblood
a lot of former Los Angeles Ram players
felt when Georgia took the team away
from LA. So, round and round it goes…

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nittany ram wrote:

@SandoESPN: Timing of #Rams’ OC opening and Kyle Shanahan’s mutual parting from Cleveland is convenient, but we shall see.

Interesting. Fisher is good friends with the Shanahans.

Does Kyle use the same system
that BS does?

Itz always the same names that
get reshuffled. It annoys me
for some reason. I’d just as soon
Fisher hire from within.

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• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by wv.
• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by zn.

zn wrote:

Well we don’t have to speculate. We can look at what he said (later). And my point really is that the socio-pathic Kroenke is completely capable of telling Fisher no, we will not move AND hiring him precisely because he’s experienced with moves.

That’s my read on SK anyway. He is that single-minded and just jerks everyone around in relation to his single-mindedness.

And what is he single-minded about? Being in california? No. Maximizing value and winning entrepeneurial contests. It’s nothing more than that.

Hey if you dont Like
Billionaire-Sociopaths,
YOU can just start
following North Korean Badminton.

Btw, if this LA/StLouis thing takes months
to unfold — this thread is gonna get awfully
Long.

w
v

I’m confuzed — this article sez the LA Stadium wont be finished until 2018. So does that mean if the rams move, they will
play somewhere else for a coupla years?

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============================
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2015/01/06/nfl-st-louis-rams-owner-stan-kroenke-los-angeles-stadium/21367579/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomsports-topstories
…the Inglewood plan is submitted to voters this year and approved as planned, the new stadium could be ready in 2018. With no taxpayer money in play, Butts said voters will be asked to modify zoning to include a stadium on a related development project that will spread over 298 acres, including the 60 acres owned by The Kroenke Group.

“I’ve known Stan for years, and Stan is a measured, deliberate person who makes very good business decisions, often using patience to do so,” Ganis said. “If he says he’s just going to build it himself and take the league on in court, what have you done? You’ve built a stadium, and you possibly lose in court and you’re out a billion and a half dollars? That’s not a rational way to go about it, and Stan is very rational man.”
Still, Ganis doesn’t believe this stadium will be built on spec.

“To the extent that anybody has said that, I’ll take the other side to that bet,” Ganis said. “It just doesn’t happen, not when you’re talking about a billion-plus dollars.”

Zooey wrote:

I don’t know what’s come over me. I feel like I’m caught up in some crappy,
but sexy, mini-series with lots of carnality, poolside action, and backstabbing.

Are you talkin about the Wild Bunch?
Cause, you know, we are Trying to discuss Westerns.
Stay on point.

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Snead plays the
“I know nothing, Im just in football-operations” card.

He said “…when you do the analytics
teams that go with a no.2 QB are gonna
go .500 at best…”

He also said there are players who have
had multiple ACL surgeries and played well
(Frank Gore) but they still cant count know
how Sam is gonna do and they have to take out
a ‘better insurance policy’ …

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• This reply was modified 10 years, 2 months ago by wv.

Zooey wrote:

I’ve read around on this now, and I still can’t get a grip on this.

My assumption is that Kroenke is not a fool. I don’t think a man builds an empire, one transaction after another, after another, piling up billions of dollars without learning to conduct himself wisely. So it is hard for me to believe that SK is just smashing his way all King Kong like back to Los Angeles with no regard for NFL politics. He has been involved in the business of sports forever, the business of development forever, and the NFL for 20 years. He knows whom and what he is dealing with, and he knows the legalities of all of this both on a civic side and the NFL side.

Consequently, I have a very hard time believing that SK is blindly stepping on toes among his co-owners, or blind-siding the league office with his procedures. I have to believe that he knows what he is doing. I don’t think he is brashly making mistakes.

So either he has done the research and concluded that 1) the NFL will never approve of his move, and 2) he can pull it off against their wishes and still make more money than he can ever hope to make staying put

or

he is operating with league knowledge and approval, and all we are getting is a scripted storyline that protects the league image.

The thing is, though, I don’t really like either one of those interpretations. I don’t doubt he can make more money in LA. Everyone knows the franchise is worth more money there, especially with stadium ownership. Beyond the value of the franchise, and the increased merchandising revenue, as well as related media ventures, he will be making god-awful amounts of money on the retail and residential properties on this piece of land. No way he can build a financial bonanza like that in St. Louis even if the city gives him property for free. So the money is in LA. But the NFL can apparently screw a bunch of money out of him, too, and they have other ways of making life difficult for him. And Stan just does not strike me as a maverick like Al Davis, willing to be a pariah on the big stage.

And I have a hard time believing the NFL has made some kind of secret handshake deal behind the scenes that they can prevent from leaking somehow. I just don’t like either interpretation.

And I’m vexed.

Something is afoot here, and I don’t think anybody has put their finger on the pulse of it yet.

Where is Matt Taibbi when you need him?

Yeah, that all resonates with me too, Z.

Especially the Taibbi thing.

We’ll get the story eventually,
i guess. I doubt it will be pretty.
This aint exactly about “the love of the game”
as you well know.

w
v

Dak wrote:

I don’t see anyone attacking any cities in this thread.

This really is all about what Kroenke wants. And, I’m not surprised by the Florio article where SK says he can move if he wants, whether he gets NFL approval or not.

If that’s the case, it’s the worst-case scenario for St. Louis, because the NFL isn’t part of this deal, and the NFL can’t even consider plans for a team in St. Louis as a contingency if the Rams are to move.

I don’t want the Jaguars, btw. I mean, I’d rather wait another decade or so and see what else becomes available than accept another crappy franchise moving here. The Rams were bad enough, but at the time, we fans in STL were just hungry for any type of NFL football. Let’s face it, this franchise was horrible back then, and caught lightning in a bottle with DV and the GSOT. Now that the franchise seems to be heading in the right direction, SK wants to take off for L.A. And, there wasn’t anything that L.A. did or didn’t do to get this team. And, it sure wasn’t anything that St. Louis fans did (other than put up with complete futility since the GSOT). It was a Stan Kroenke strong-arm move that will make it happen. It will move Kroenke up the Fortune 400 list and make him the wealthiest owner in the NFL, and it will leave heartache behind him … both in St. Louis, and maybe the NFL in general. I mean, if Kroenke can move over the NFL’s objections, anyone can move, and what power do the NFL owners really have, then? But, honestly, I think the NFL owners all know this already, and they’re not likely to get into a big spat about this. They’re going to get richer with a team in the L.A. market, aren’t they? And, why not make Stan pay the relocation fee and avoid a court battle? No, there will be no heartache or even heartburn at NFL Inc. There will just be a team in L.A., and none in St. Louis, same as before the Rams moved here in ’95 — but more money in everybody’s pockets outside St. Louis. The best we can hope for in St. Louis is a vague promise from the NFL that St. Louis will get a replacement team if we can put together a stadium deal. I hope that’s not the Jaguars, but probably that’s the best we can hope for. In that case, I might just follow the Rams, and root for SK to contract gout or something.

Well, ok…and not to be an instigator….but…how did you feel
when Georgia and shaw took the team away from the Los Angeles fans?
Know what i mean. We fans love the players and the game, etc — the
owners though….ya know.

Corporate-Fandom is easier as a Nomad.

w
v

Winnbrad wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>wv wrote:</div>
…i wonder how a move would affect the players?
Distraction? Problems? Pluses? Minuses?

Will they bring the equipment manager with them?

What if Fisher goes all Hollywood on us
and starts wearing a cape ?

w
v

The team is my only concern. I’ve lived in NC and VA my entire life, so I don’t care which city the Rams play in.

But moving a team is a huge deal. Lots of like distractions. And this team has enough problems as it is.

EDIT: I would enjoy the cape, though.

Well its settled then — Fisher should wear
a cape. But should it be blue and yellow
or blue and white?

Coupla good thingz (for me) about a move
to LA:
1) More likely to wear BLUE and WHITE
(at least on throwback days)
2) Outdoor stadium (I hate domes)

Bad thingz:
1) I am not crazy about 4 pm EST
starting times…

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Waterfield posted this:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-rams-plaschke-20150107-column.html

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