[St. Loser Fan]

Let me guess: the old mall has a closed Macy's, closed movie theater, closed book store and it most recently had COVID testing plus a Spirit Halloween store?

[Elvis]

Rams could build a team training site in Woodland Hills

BY BILL SHAIKIN, ROGER VINCENT, SAM FARMER
FEB. 24, 2022 11:23 AM PT

The Super Bowl champions could soon set up camp a kick away from Victory Boulevard.

The Rams are in negotiations to buy the site of the former Woodland Hills Promenade shopping mall and build a team practice facility there, according to people familiar with the talks who are not authorized to discuss them publicly and asked for anonymity.

The Rams and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, the owners of the mall property, declined to comment.

If the deal is completed, the Rams could pay more than $150 million for the 34-acre site, which would be large enough to hold a summer training camp with fans in attendance. The Rams have practiced at Cal Lutheran in Thousand Oaks but have staged training camp at UC Irvine.

The Chargers, who share SoFi Stadium with the Rams, announced in November they agreed to move their practice facility from Costa Mesa to El Segundo, as part of a training complex that would include a team headquarters.

The Woodland Hills site is large enough that Rams owner Stan Kroenke could build a practice facility and team headquarters there, then surround it with a mixed-use development. That would echo his strategy at SoFi Stadium: buy the property, build the stadium, then develop the land around it.

The Rams project would not be the first effort to repurpose the mall property as a sports facility.

In the middle of the last decade, the Dodgers explored moving one of their minor league teams into a new ballpark to be built on the property. The 7,000-seat ballpark would also have been available for concerts, youth competitions, and community events, all next to the existing Village at Topanga. Fans could have dined, shopped and caught a game or show, all without moving their car.

The Angels vetoed the plan. Under Major League Baseball rules, the Dodgers and Angels share the Southland territory, and the Dodgers declined to guarantee they would let the Angels move one of their minor league teams into Los Angeles if that possibility ever arose.

The property owners then envisioned a 15,000-seat sports arena, surrounded by a neighborhood of homes, offices, hotels, shops and restaurants but found no team to play in the arena.

[DirtyFacedKid]

I wish they would've jumped the Chargers and put their facilities here in El Segundo like the Lakers and Kings. But I can see them not considering that since most of the players live in the far Valley, closer to Woodland Hills. I wouldn't want to make that commute for sure!

[Elvis]

Here's a story about the stadium that almost was at same location:



RFU topic on it here:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10572&p=161841

[Gareth]

If this happens, how long before they can set up shop? Obviously not this coming season but possibly 2023? Maybe 2024 more likely?

[Elvis]

Rams seeking Woodland Hills site for training facility, report says

The possibility of a training site in the San Fernando Valley had been on the table for some time. Former mall site could be a perfect fit.

The Promenade in Woodland Hills, CA on Tuesday, February 8, 2022. (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

By KEVIN MODESTI | kmodesti@scng.com and RYAN CARTER | rcarter@scng.com | Daily News
PUBLISHED: February 24, 2022 at 6:15 p.m. | UPDATED: February 24, 2022 at 6:26 p.m.

The Rams’ stadium in Inglewood is a modern marvel worthy of Super Bowl champions. Their training facility in Thousand Oaks, not so much.

But a solution to that problem might be coming.

The Rams weren’t commenting Thursday, with either confirmation or denial, on a Los Angeles Times report the team is negotiating to buy the site of the vacant Promenade mall in Woodland Hills to use for a future practice facility and headquarters.

The West San Fernando Valley has long been seen as a potential destination for the Rams, and the 34 acres owned by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield at Topanga Canyon Boulevard and Oxnard Street have been seeking a purpose for years.

The most recent announced plan for the land just north of the 101 Freeway called for a $1 billion mixed-use development to be built by 2035, including apartments, hotels, offices, entertainment and a sports arena.

The project received a green light from the Los Angeles City Council in 2020 but it’s unclear when the demolition of the shopping mall will begin. The mall is expected to be removed during the project’s first construction phase.

Local officials say if it’s true the Rams’ pre-season presence could be a good fit in a part of the Valley that is looking to transform and where the Rams organization has already developed some goodwill.

“I’ll never forget how a few years ago the Rams jumped in to help Cleveland High School’s football team after money they raised for the upcoming season was stolen,” L.A. City Councilman Bob Blumenfield reflected in a statement on Thursday. “They swiftly delivered brand new gear to the players who had worked so hard. The Rams have continued to be incredible partners in helping the Valley and our City.

“This sounds like a really great opportunity and would be good news if true,” he added. “There is a plan in place for a venue at that site that protects the community and could let our Super Bowl champs get something up and running in my district pretty soon, which is incredibly exciting.”

Rams coaches and players have looked forward to a more up-to-date facility ever since they took up residence on the California Lutheran University campus in Thousand Oaks after owner Stan Kroenke moved the team back from St. Louis in 2016.

At the current facility, they practice on two outdoor fields, and off-the-field work is done in temporary bungalows.

The team’s business offices are separate, in Agoura Hills.



A new venue presumably would include an indoor practice facility. That would keep the Rams out of the frequent high wind that can make practice difficult in Thousand Oaks. Three days before the Super Bowl, a forecast of 30-mph wind prompted Coach Sean McVay to move the Rams’ most intensive practice of the week to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

A new site also could host the Rams’ summer training camps. The Thousand Oaks facility has no room for fans, which is why the Rams hold their training camp at UC Irvine.

Cal Lutheran is about 50 freeway miles from SoFi Stadium, the $5 billion stadium in Inglewood where the Rams began playing home games in 2020 and won the Super Bowl over the Cincinnati Bengals on Feb. 13.

The Promenade mall land is about 30 miles from SoFi.

The Rams would follow the Chargers in planning a change of practice locations. The Chargers announced in November that they would move their training facilities from Costa Mesa to El Segundo.

[Hacksaw]

I guess Spanos didn't get many San Diego takers so North he goes.

I hope the new facility in Woodland Hills doesn't doom Irvine..

[ramsman34]

Sweet! 5-10 mins from my house!!

[Flash]

Sweet! 5-10 mins from my house!!

Awesome drinks at Ramsman before first training camp! I'm in!

[ramsman34]

What a fantastic idea Flash. Got a nice pool out back. We could do a little Ramly pool party bbq then head to camp!!