Officials from both the state of Missouri and city of St. Louis are "vowing to fight to keep" the Rams -- but only "to a point" -- after the news that team Owner Stan Kroenke plans to build a new stadium at Hollywood Park in Inglewood, Calif., according to a front-page piece by Kevin McDermott of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. Jeff Rainford, Chief of Staff for St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay, yesterday said Slay "thinks we should ... not get into a bidding war with Los Angeles." Rainford: "A National Football League franchise does have value, and we should want one, but let’s use some common sense." Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, who has created a two-person committee to come up with recommendations on how to keep the Rams, "took a similar position." Nixon appointed former A-B President David Peacock and Edward Jones Dome attorney Robert Blitz in November to "evaluate options and report back by the end of this month." They said in a statement yesterday that the report "will be ready Friday." The plan they will present to Nixon is "expected to feature a site on the Mississippi River north of the Gateway Arch and would be pitched as part of a major redevelopment of the area." Rainford said that the "mere threat of a California land deal shouldn’t change either the content or timetable of Missouri’s expected proposal." Inglewood Mayor James Butts Jr. said in a news conference yesterday that he "backs Kroenke’s plan, which he said may involve a public vote, potentially as soon as June" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/6).
OPEN HOUSE: In L.A., Logan, Farmer & Rainey in a front-page piece report AEG and Ed Roski said that their "ambitions to host a pro football franchise in downtown Los Angeles or in the City of Industry remain undeterred by Kroenke's gambit." Proponents of those alternatives added that they "already have the needed government approvals and could break ground immediately, while the Inglewood alternative depends on the city's voters approving a ballot measure to change zoning on the property." Kroenke's commitment to the Inglewood location "could give that plan more momentum" than the others. However, Kroenke could still "find a better deal by keeping his team in St. Louis with enhanced taxpayer support." The Kroenke Group said that it is "committed to building an NFL-style football stadium even if the Rams aren't the team that would play in it" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6). CBS Sports' Jason La Canfora said, "We’ve got an existing owner of an NFL team ... now going public saying, ‘Yeah, that land is for a stadium and we have partnered with the guys across the street at Hollywood Park and now we’ve got over 200 acres and we can build 80,000 seats to host two teams and Super Bowls and all the parking and all of the ancillary bells and whistles. We plan on going through this and it’s not going to cost anybody anything at least in terms of the taxpayer.’" La Canfora: "Is it the absolute NFL preferred site? No. Is it the NFL's deal to broker? No. But at the end of the day, this is a power move by Stan Kroenke. If he can align himself with Mark Davis or Dean Spanos or whomever and there’s a lot of time to do that, all the more powerful this becomes” (“Rome,” CBS Sports Network, 1/5).
WITH OR WITHOUT YOU: Hollywood Park Land Company Senior VP Chris Meany said of building a stadium without an NFL tenant, “We are not dependent on that commitment in advance. ... We are proposing to build it on spec. We are prepared to start even if we haven't finalized the details of what that team would be.” Meany described the stadium as a "multipurpose facility designed to host football games, soccer games or possibly Olympic events" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6). Meany: "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. We're putting our shovels in the ground and going forward" (ESPNLA.com, 1/5).
BUSINESS PLAN: In St. Louis, Bernie Miklasz writes from a practical business standpoint and strategy, announcing plans for a new stadium "was an aggressive and smart move by Kroenke for several obvious reasons." The move "increases his leverage in St. Louis and applies more pressure on local leadership to come through with an appealing stadium plan that theoretically gives Kroenke a reason to keep the Rams" in St. Louis beyond '15. Miklasz: "If anything, Kroenke can demand even more here now." By "planting his flag in the ground" near L.A., Kroenke also "establishes a tactical advantage" over the Chargers and Raiders. By "seizing the initiative" in L.A., Kroenke can "begin to curry favor with the NFL office, and the team owners, to his side" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/6). But in L.A., Sam Farmer writes Kroenke is "taking a big risk announcing his intentions this early, especially when the league has ruled out any team's relocating" in '15. Farmer: "Tis the season for the Rams to start renewing season-ticket holders, and if St. Louis fans are convinced the team is leaving, those open seats could be even more bountiful next fall" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6).
SLOW YOUR ROLL: ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported there are "some people in the league who have said Stan Kroenke needs to slow down" regarding the Rams potentially relocating. Mortensen: "He still has to meet the standards if it was going to be the Rams. ... It's not like the old days of the Wild West" ("NFL Insiders," ESPN, 1/5). But ESPN’s Michael Wilbon said Kroenke has “every right in the world as a businessman … to take his team back to L.A. and make as much money as he can.” ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said “St. Louis got a gift in getting that team, and if they don’t want to support them, it doesn’t matter.” Kornheiser: “St. Louis is a baseball city. They’ve never been a football city. This is not like leaving Cleveland, it’s not like leaving Baltimore” (“PTI,” ESPN, 1/5).
CHESS MATCH: ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner wrote the "message here is clear: Professional football in St. Louis once again is on the ropes," and Kroenke's announcement "doesn't look like just leverage to me." The bigger issue here will come down to what St. Louis "can muster and what the NFL feels is best for business" (ESPN.com, 1/5). Inner Circle Sports Partner Steve Horowitz said of Kroenke, "He’s got a team with a lease he can get out of, he’s wealthy, he has a real-estate bent and he likes big ideas. Those are all good facts. He checks a lot of the boxes" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/6). But in L.A., Michael Hiltzik writes the "best bet for Inglewood is to recognize that it's merely a stalking horse" for St. Louis and perhaps for Roski or AEG Chair Phil Anschutz or both, and "withdraw from the field before it ends up like Irwindale, which in 1987 got conned into paying the late Raiders owner Al Davis a nonrefundable $10-million fee to bring his team over from the L.A. Coliseum" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6). An L.A. TIMES editorial runs under the header, "An NFL Stadium In Inglewood? We'll Believe It When We See It" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6).
ST. LOUIS ASKING FOR A LOT: In K.C., Dave Helling notes St.Louis' plan "is still secret, but no one thinks St. Louis can provide the expensive improvements on its own." Instead, the group is "expected to suggest the entire state kick in hundreds of millions of dollars for the project," which is a "heavy political lift" (K.C. STAR, 1/6). Meanwhile, SPORTS ON EARTH's Will Leitch wrote the city is "trying to convince a team that St. Louis is a better home" than L.A. Leitch: "This is going to require handing over the farm, again. ... The only advantage St. Louis has at this point is their potential willingness to give the Rams whatever they want" (SPORTSONEARTH.com, 1/5).
