Rams Owner Stan Kroenke and the team on Friday attended a "welcome back party at the Fabulous Forum," marking their "first official appearance in the region they once called home for 50 years," according to Vincent Bonsignore of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. Fans in Inglewood "chanted his name in thanks and praise," and as he "smiled broadly, if a bit shyly, it was obvious the moment meant something to him." Kroenke said, "We’re happy to be here." Rams Exec VP/Football Operations & COO Kevin Demoff said of Kroenke, "You have to understand how much this means to him. This is his vision. And that quest to return the Rams home and this project to build a world-class venue here in Inglewood is a legacy moment he’s poured his heart and soul into" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/16). In L.A., Farmer & Fenno noted Kroenke a few minutes into the news conference "cleared his throat and gripped the lectern inside the Forum with both hands." Then he said, "It's been a long road back. It's been a long road. But we made it." After that, his chin "trembled," and tears "welled in his eyes." Rams coach Jeff Fisher and GM Les Snead "sat in the front row," and a "slew of former Rams players attended too," including Tom Mack, Jackie Slater, Jim Everett and Wendell Tyler. The "feel-good event took an unexpected turn when Demoff mentioned the likelihood of sharing the stadium with another team." He said, "We can't wait for the day to welcome a second team into our building to help have a true AFC-NFC rivalry which will be special." That possibility "didn't sit well with the crowd." Boos and catcalls "echoed through the arena and caused Demoff to briefly stop until his words could be heard" (L.A. TIMES, 1/16).
THE DEVIL'S IN THE DETAILS: ESPN.com's Eric Williams noted the Rams "will maintain temporary offices and a practice facility at the team's current Rams Park facility in St. Louis until they can build a more permanent home." The Rams "haven't finalized a location in Los Angeles for immediate use." But Snead said that the hope is that the team "can be up and running in time to hold offseason workouts" in L.A. once they are scheduled to begin in April. Demoff confirmed that the Rams "will play the upcoming season downtown at the Coliseum. They will start selling tickets today at prices "comparable to last year's rates in St. Louis" (ESPN.com, 1/15). The Rams "can't start selling suites or personal seat licenses" until February '17 unless a second team "joins them earlier in L.A." (L.A. TIMES, 1/16).
INSIDE THE OWNERS' ROOM: On Long Island, Bob Glauber noted the momentum for Kroenke to gain approval to move his team to L.A. changed when the other owners during last Tuesday's meeting in Houston "saw the renderings of his multi-billion-dollar stadium complex and development plan for the site" in Inglewood. The owners "were so taken by the possibilities of this gargantuan stadium and surrounding buildings that it was only a matter of time before the proposal was accepted." Giants President & CEO John Mara, a member of the NFL's Committee on L.A. Opportunities, said, "The Inglewood presentation was fantastic, and it caught a lot of people’s attention right away. Once I saw it, I sat there thinking to myself, 'There’s no way that this is going to fail.'" NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "saw that the sentiment in the meeting room clearly had pivoted toward Kroenke’s project despite the initial sentiment that owners preferred to take care of the Chargers and Raiders." Rather than risk "potentially acrimonious debate about the two projects by calling for an open vote, Goodell instead suggested that the owners vote anonymously to determine how the majority of the owners truly felt about the two proposals." Mara: "When you have three teams trying to do the same thing, with a huge split in the room about what should happen, I think the solution that we ended up with will hopefully work out in the long run. There was no way to handle this without some people being upset." Glauber noted Mara and other owners "thought Goodell did a remarkably good job in steering the discussions toward the resolution." Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones: "It was a brilliant job by the commissioner to lead the vote to this completion" (NEWSDAY, 1/17).
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES: The TIMES' Farmer & Fenno reported the Rams with a coin flip "won the right to go first" in their presentation to league owners, followed by the backers of the Carson stadium proposal. Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger "spoke of his love for the NFL and his branding expertise and reminded the 32 owners that, as head of ESPN's parent company, he had paid them all plenty of money over the years." After Iger left, Jones "pushed back his swivel chair and stood to address the room." Jones: "He said he paid us. Last time I checked, that money is coming from Disney shareholders, not him." Farmer & Fenno noted the mood "was tense even though a consensus had been building among the owners in recent weeks for a hybrid option: pairing the Rams and Chargers in Inglewood and leaving the Raiders in Oakland." The room "was mostly quiet; many owners communicated by text message." Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson, a member of the L.A. committee who "supported Carson and orchestrated Iger's involvement in the project, said little throughout the day." Goodell at one point "ushered the three owners seeking relocation into a private negotiation that lasted about an hour." Sensing the end "was near, Jones had beer and wine delivered to the ballroom" (L.A. TIMES, 1/17).
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Jones was driving force behind NFL
picking Rams to relocate to Inglewood |
JERRY WORLD: In Dallas, Rick Gosselin wrote under the header, "In Brokering L.A. Deal, Jerry Jones Shows He Is The Tom Brady Of NFL Owners." Jones "always knew the importance of Los Angeles to the Cowboys, to the owners, to the players and to the television networks." He also knew there "would eventually be a team that relocated there," and that the next team "might be the best and last chance for the NFL to make it work there." This was "too big a decision, too important a financial decision, for the league to screw up again," which is why Jones "stepped in" to broker the deal. When the conversation "is money, the NFL listens to Jones." His backbone has "put billions of dollars into the pockets of his fellow owners in rich, new TV contracts." Gosselin: "He is to NFL financials what Tom Brady is to NFL quarterbacking. And Los Angeles was all about money -- growing the financial pie so that both the players and owners would benefit. So when Jones spoke this week in Houston, everyone listened" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 1/16).
A DIFFERENT OUTCOME THIS TIME AROUND: CBS Sports Network's Brandon Tierney said he thinks the Rams will "flourish" in L.A. because the NFL is "in a different place now than it was" when the franchise initially left for St. Louis in '95. He noted he felt "badly for the fans" in St. Louis, but said, "The bottom line is this: It's callus, but the NFL doesn't care. They will make exponentially more money. It's more viable, it’s more plausible and it’s a better business model.” CBS Sports Network's Amy Trask said, “There’s another big difference as to why this could succeed in Los Angeles. A: The league picked the right location. Inglewood is the better location in Southern California. And B: Los Angeles has never had a state-of-the-art stadium. They have the L.A. Coliseum ... and the Rose Bowl and they're both beautiful buildings, but they're not state-of-the-art facilities. Now Los Angeles will have one” (“That Other Pregame Show,” CBS Sports Network, 1/17). Fox' Howie Long said, "I am still trying to figure out the process by which they made this decision, but at the end of the day it’s really about follow the money. In the NFL it’s about money. This is a boon for the NFL, it is a boon for the Rams. They are going to have a crown jewel facility here in Los Angeles. Super Bowls, Pro Bowls, Draft, Combine -- you name it, they’ll have it there. It is a big moneymaker for the Los Angeles Rams and for the NFL” ("Fox NFL Sunday," Fox, 1/17).
SO LONG, ST. LOUIS: Missouri State Rep. Anne Zerr on Friday said that she "plans to file legislation" this week that would make sports team owners "who relocate their teams to other states to be responsible for any debt left behind." In St. Louis, Kurt Erickson noted the proposal "wouldn’t affect" Kroenke. Zerr said, "We can’t do it to Kroenke and his bunch, but we can make sure it doesn’t happen again." The initiative "is among a handful of proposals and lawsuits related to the Rams and the proposed construction of a new stadium being pushed by General Assembly members this year." Missouri state Sen. Rob Schaaf "is sponsoring legislation that would bar Gov. Jay Nixon from spending state funds to build a new stadium north of downtown without support from lawmakers or voters." Schaaf also "is spearheading a lawsuit against Nixon and the authority that oversees the Edward Jones Dome, alleging taxpayer dollars are being spent illegally" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/16).
DODGING A BULLET: In N.Y., Joe Nocera wrote the departure of the Rams is something for St. Louis residents "to cheer, not bemoan." The city "got lucky." The economics "underpinning the recent deal St. Louis and the State of Missouri tried to put together to keep the Rams would have been financially ruinous." Nocera: "Let’s not be coy about this." St. Louis "simply couldn’t afford to help finance" the $1B stadium that Kroenke "was seeking." Its mistake "was in trying" (N.Y. TIMES, 1/16). Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom said, "The NFL once again couldn't resist an overpriced temple to itself." Albom: "St. Louis tried to keep their team, offering up a stadium of their own, but the Arch got the shaft. Kroenke, who married into the Wal-Mart family fortune, should be ashamed of opening and shutting a sports team like, well, a Wal-Mart. Despite a dozen straight losing seasons, fans still fill most of the seats every week in St. Louis. That kind of loyalty should be worth something. Here's what it's worth in the NFL: A goodbye” (“The Sports Reporters,” ESPN2, 1/17).
PUTTING A BOW ON THINGS: In St. Louis, Hunn & Pistor reported the public "will have paid out" a total of more than $16.2M on the proposed new stadium. The public agency that owns the Edward Jones Dome "paid 22 companies, including architects, surveyors, bond attorneys, construction managers, geotechnical engineers, financial advisers and a minority workforce expert" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/17). A ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL editorial states the effort to keep the Rams "will be seen by some as a heroic effort and, by others, as tomfoolery." The truth is that it was "probably a little of both." The editorial: "What was sincere, however, and deserves special mention is the effort by (St. Louis stadium task force co-head) Dave Peacock, who lent his time, energy, Rolodex and brainpower to the effort. ... Dave Peacock may have been misled, but he's not the kind of guy who is duped. We see him as the type of leader St. Louis needs. He deserves our thanks" (ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/15 issue).
