The Rams in their relocation application submitted to the NFL on Monday argued that team Owner Stan Kroenke's stadium proposal in Inglewood is "vastly superior to the rival plan in Carson and could be a financial windfall for the NFL," according to Farmer & Fenno of the L.A. TIMES. The 29-page document "lays out the team's rationale for why it should be able to leave St. Louis and how it believes such a move would ultimately strengthen the NFL." Although the developers at the Inglewood site have long said their stadium "would be ready" for the '18 season, the Rams' application targets '19 as the "proposed start date." The application is "divided into three parts: discussing the strengths of the Inglewood plan, explaining why the Rams have a right to move after two decades in St. Louis, and outlining how the league will benefit from the team's relocation." The stadium, which "would be the NFL's largest," would be "capable of hosting two teams with 70,240 fixed seats and accommodate another 30,000 people in standing-room-only areas for large events." There would be "274 suites, 16,300 premium seats and 12,675 dedicated surface parking spaces." The Rams "envision the stadium forming the hub of NFL activity on the West Coast." Some of the office space in the planned mixed-use development around the stadium "could accommodate the NFL Network, NFL Media and NFL Digital." Some of the "strongest language" in the proposal "is reserved" for the $1.1B riverfront stadium deal being proposed by St. Louis. The Rams' application "argues that even 'the most cursory analysis of the St. Louis financial proposal makes no economic sense for an NFL team.'" A header in bold "emphasizes the point: 'No NFL Club Would Be Interested In The … New St. Louis Stadium'" (L.A. TIMES, 1/6). ESPN.com's Nick Wagoner noted the Rams "argue that the ability to create additional space for large events would bring the NFL a potential windfall" of up to $50M "more than Carson would if hosting a Super Bowl" (ESPN.com, 1/5).
ST. LOUIS FIGHTS BACKS: Kroenke in the proposal said that the St. Louis region is "losing population and lags in economic drivers to such a degree that it cannot support three professional sports teams." The proposal read, "St. Louis will be well on the road to financial ruin." In St. Louis, David Hunn in a front-page piece notes the proposal amounts to "both a gushing celebration" of Kroenke’s L.A. stadium plan and a "scathing review of the future economic well-being of St. Louis." St. Louis stadium task force co-head Dave Peacock said the Rams’ analysis of the St. Louis plan contains “inconsistencies and inaccuracies." Hunn notes the team picked St. Louis statistics "they wanted to use" that "carefully builds a devastating argument" that Kroenke's L.A. proposal is better than his competitors’. Peacock: "That’s probably not surprising. Their job is not to give a balanced argument" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/6).
BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU: In St. Louis, Ben Frederickson noted St. Louis residents were "led to believe a team going all-in came with some conditions, according to the NFL’s 'Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations.'” The relocation guidelines say a team that sends a notice of relocation to the league must “publish the notice in newspapers of general circulation” in its community and “provide copies of the notice to governmental and business representatives.” The guidelines also say that the notice "must be accompanied by a 'statement of reasons' that outlines the team’s motives." The Post-Dispatch's Hunn "had to make multiple requests for the Rams’ statement of reasons." The St. Louis stadium task force "also sent a letter to the NFL requesting the information." The Rams finally "forked over the documents" last night. Frederickson: "It’s a bombshell, folks. Kroenke went from saying nothing to documenting every single reason he wants out of St. Louis. He went from burnt bridges to scorched earth. ... And there was a chance it would have never been made public" (STLTODAY.com, 1/5). USA TODAY's Brent Schrotenboer wrote under the header, "Rams Bash St. Louis In L.A. Relocation Bid" (USATODAY.com, 1/6). Also in St. Louis, Benjamin Hochman writes Kroenke is "stripping St. Louis of one of its biggest points of pride, its NFL team." St. Louisans "clearly don't matter as much to him compared to those in Los Angeles, if only because there are millions more of them in L.A., and there's more money to be made" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/6).
