Kroenke said L.A. appreciates having the Rams back and they view it as their team that came homeGETTY IMAGES
Rams Owner STAN KROENKE in his three years since moving the team back to L.A. has made an impact "larger than all the stars he has made rich," and is as big as any L.A. sports business leader since AEG Chair PHIL ANSCHUTZ "stuck a shovel in the ground that Staples Center sits atop," according to a profile by Bill Plaschke of the L.A. TIMES. Kroenke has "not only been the Rams’ biggest force, but a force on the entire local sports landscape, spending, building, growing, committing." Plaschke: "He gets Los Angeles. He understands its fans. He knows what works, and, man, he’s been working it." Kroenke said, "I love L.A., it’s a unique and wonderful place, and we really wanted to do it right. The people truly do appreciate having the Rams back, they view it as their team that came home, and it’s been really wonderful to be part of this." Plaschke noted Kroenke mostly "makes it happen from the shadows." He has thus far been the "ideal owner." He has "embraced the city." He has "spent the money." He has "walked the walk." When the Rams open their season, thanks to Kroenke, they have no excuses" (L.A. TIMES, 9/1).
STILL HURTS: In St. Louis, Ben Frederickson writes while Kroenke is "becoming a media darling" in L.A., he "remains a loser here." He has "not been able to wiggle off the hook for duping personal seat license holders in St. Louis." A "fight over the practice facility the team left behind continues." And then there is the "lawsuit filed by St. Louis officials that aims to prove Kroenke, the league and team owners violated the league’s relocation guidelines and committed multiple legal penalties during the relocation process." Frederickson: "Kroenke and the NFL share an approach when it comes to pending litigation. Keep it pending." They want St. Louis to "move on, to forget, to give up." Seeing Kroenke and the men who "helped his shameless hustle face questions in court would be better than any game their warped league could produce." Football, "once a devotion has devolved." It "became a disinterest." Now it is a "distaste." It has "become too hard to ignore what takes place" off the field (ST LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/4).
