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Rams make plans for putting down roots in Los Angeles area



By RICH HAMMOND / STAFF WRITER

MANHATTAN BEACH – Never mind football. It’s difficult to imagine a more daunting, important summer than the one upon which the Rams’ Alec Ogletree is about to embark.

Having recovered from a broken leg, Ogletree and his wife are about to move across the country and prepare for an addition. Alexandra Ogletree is due to deliver the couple’s first child, a boy, on Aug. 2, just a few days after the newly rechristened Los Angeles Rams begin training camp.

“We definitely want to get her settled in and hopefully get it all solved pretty soon,” Ogletree said.

Ogletree made some progress Friday, when most of the Rams players met in a hotel ballroom and heard a presentation from Coach Jeff Fisher and others about logistics of the move from St. Louis.

Fisher said 80 percent of the players attended the meeting, while others had pre-scheduled personal plans.

“It was mainly our wives that had all the questions,” Ogletree said. “Us, we just want to go out and play football, but some people have wives and kids, so you want to learn about the good schools and the nice neighborhoods.”

Fisher, General Manager Les Snead, Executive Vice President of Football Operations Kevin Demoff and other executives were able to fill in some blanks, most of which had been expected.

The Rams are expected to hold training-camp practices at UC Irvine starting in late July, although team officials said an agreement has not yet been finalized. In-season practices are scheduled to be held in the Thousand Oaks area, as the Rams prefer to eventually build their permanent headquarters there.

“A lot of people in our organization are working very, very hard to make this come through,” Fisher said. “Our focus, when the (relocation) deal was done, was to take care of the players.”

Before their move to St. Louis in 1995, the Rams held training camp at UC Irvine from 1990-92 and in 1994. Details have not been finalized, but the Rams typically allow free public access to some practices.

The Rams have a deep history in Orange County. They played in then-Anaheim Stadium from 1980 until 1994, and also held training camp at then-Chapman College (1962-66) and Cal State Fullerton (1967-71, 1973-89, 1993). The Rams’ headquarters were located in Anaheim.

The Rams previously announced that they will hold organized team activities in Oxnard starting next month. Fisher said team executives will work out of the Los Angeles area leading up to next month’s draft.

Players can now begin to establish roots. They’ve been advised, because of traffic, not to buy or rent homes too far from the eastern Ventura County area. Training-camp practices at UC Irvine won’t be a problem, because players will be housed on site for the duration of camp.

“Sunshine and sandy beaches aren’t too bad to have waiting ahead of you,” punter Johnny Hekker said. “I’ve had people hitting me up asking when I’m getting Disneyland season passes.”

In football news, Fisher announced that cornerback Trumaine Johnson accepted and signed his tender offer from the team. The Rams on Tuesday used their non-exclusive franchise tag on Johnson, and by signing the offer, he agreed to a one-year contract of $13.95 million and avoided free agency.

“We had a great run in St. Louis and we’re going to miss the fans there,” Ogletree said. “Our time there was well spent, but now we’re coming to a new market and you have to show up when the lights come on.”

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