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Here, LA stadium developer John Semcken describes moving an existing NFL franchise, maybe two, to LA:
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STL Rising is a blog dedicated to the renaissance of the City of St. Louis. It's a place to discuss issues and possibilities, all in the spirit of promoting the continuing progress of this great metropolis of the Mississippi Valley.
7 comments:
Will the Rams use this proposal as leverage to get a new stadium in St. Louis?
The Rams need a buyer first. To maximize revenue, the new owner makes a move to get a new stadium. If the Rams are to remain in St. Louis, a new state of the art stadium seems like the only way to keep them.
L.A. wants 2 NFL teams?
Hey Mark,
From the way I interpret Semcken's remarks, it's the NFL that wants two teams in LA.
Jacksonville and Buffalo play in small markets and struggle to bring in revenue compared to places like Dallas, LA, and New York.
St. Louis is a medium sized market with no plans for a new stadium and a lease about to expire.
San Francisco and Oakland play in a large market, but they also have no stadium deal yet.
I was out in the Bay Area over the Christmas holiday. My brother is a big 49er fan. He told me that the NFL is encouraging the Bay Area to build one stadium to house both the Niners and the Raiders.
Obviously, executives in the NFL have a tin ear when it comes to regional rivalries such as the Raiders and 49ers. Raider and 49er fans don't mix. The idea of them sharing a stadium is a nonstarter in the Bay Area. Perhaps Bay Area fans are tone deaf to NFL reality in the 21st century?
Fremont, California rejected a plan to build a new baseball only stadium for the Oakland A's. California is in such bad fiscal shape that there's just no appetite for public financing of professional sports stadiums.
So, indeed, if Semcken is telling the truth, and the LA stadium deal is set to go, then there are any number of possible teams that might be in play, including the Rams.
And from the sound of things, the NFL wants to have teams in 1) big TV markets, 2) big population areas to support sellouts, and 3) state of the art stadiums that generate gazillions of the dollars.
Does St. Louis have a plan to compete in such an economic and marketing climate? If so, where might such a stadium be located?
The East St. Louis Rams? The St. Louis Rams playing on the ESL riverfront? The St. Louis Rams playing in Collinsville or Riverport Rams?
Or the LA Rams returning triumphantly to LA? It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I'm not hearing many local people worrying much about the Rams leaving town, but I think it's a very real possibility.
The thought of Raiders fans and Niners fans with the same home field seems preposterous. That's like having Cardinal day at Wrigley Field. Or giving away Red Sox fan appreciation bats during a Yankees game in the Bronx.
If the Rams leave, it would be a psychological blow to STL, but I think we'd survive without em.
The same can't be said for the Cards or Blues. 8 home games just doesn't seem to be that big of a loss to the region.
Good points Mark. Reviewing history, apparently when the NFL made its expansion to Jacksonville, they picked Jacksonville over St. Louis.
That's what led St. Louis to get the Rams. Now Jacksonville and the Rams might both wind up moving to LA.
Maybe we could recruit the Bills? Or would that make us a three-time loser?
I'm with you. I'm not all that worried about losing the Rams. They always felt like a team on loan to St. Louis anyway.
The idea of the STL region spending USD500 Million of money it doesn't have for some sweetheart deal for a bunch of wealthy, parasitic vermin makes my blood boil. There is no way in hell that the state will pony up any of that money, and it would be a stupid and criminally wasteful way of cashing in on the paucity of political capital that the STL region has with the redneck Confederate reprobates in the MO Leg. Get over the Rams. Just let them go. The presence of an NFL football team in any City isn't necessary to that burgh's success or survival. Study after study has proven that massive sports complexes do not help a region attract or retain individuals. Seriously, it's just a bunch of adult men slapping each other on the ass every Sunday. Whoop-tee-do! Oh, and commercials. Lots and lots of commercials.
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