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?

w
v

============================
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.

w
v

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’ …

w
v

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 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…

w
v

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

w
v

Zooey wrote:

Here’s a question – since we are asking St. Louis fans what they think – here’s a question for everybody.
Suppose SK moves the Rams to LA. And a new team moves to St. Louis. Supposing the NFL goes Cleveland on this deal, and the Rams logo and horns stay in St. Louis with the new team, and Donald, Bradford, Bailey, and Quinn all play for the Los Angeles Surf. Now what? Which team do you follow?

I guess I’d follow both,
but my interest in the Los Angeles Surf would
probably fade after the old-ram-players retired or moved on.

Los Angeles Surf. I like that.

I’m still dizzy over all this — i was one of those
who really didnt think the odds were good that
the Rams would move.

w
v

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

znhater wrote:

Once a fan, always a fan is what i say. Don’t matter where they play.

Yeah, thats how i am, but I’ve never
had a pro team in my city,
and I’ve never lived in a city, wedded to a pro team
and then had the team run off
for another city.

w
v

http://www.rams-news.com/bernie-i-dont-want-to-cover-this-team-next-year-audio/
Bernie: “I dont want to cover this team next year…”

Dak wrote:

As for whether I’ll be a Rams fan if they leave St. Louis, time will tell. I’ll just see how I feel at the time. It’s not so black and white, the city vs. team thing. Right now, I can turn on talk radio and hear discussion about the Rams much of the year. I can talk with friends and family who follow the Rams. I can go to a game or camp, if I desire. That all goes away once they leave. And, if the NFL ever comes back, so does that experience.

So, we’ll just see what happens.

I was just gonna ask if any of the local St.Louis posters
are gonna keep following the Rams if they move to La.
I cant remember if Dak is the only local st louie regular
on this little board or if there are others. Is Trench in St.louis?

If i were an omnipotent Time Lord, I’d go back and fix it
so Bidwell lost his team in a poker game, and the new owner
kept the Cardinals in St.Louis,
and I’d fix it soze Carroll Rosenbloom never drowned, and the
LA Rams never fell into the hands of the Evil-Frontiere,
and thus they’d still be in LA.
I’d also make sure Modell never moved the Browns from Cleveland.
Also, the Colts should be in Baltimore.
Indy shouldnt even have a pro team. The Indy team should
be in West Virginia. It could be the WV Fighting Frackers.

Also, I’d bring back the Coastal Division.
I believe it was the Rams, Colts, 49ers and Saints.
Or Falcons. I forget.

Alrighty then. I’m snowed in. Got lotsa
time on my hands. I got tired of watchin
cars slide down my steep street into car-piles,
so now, I’m a-postin.

w
v