[Elvis]

Kind of unusual for JT to write about relocation:

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... 3d057.html

Rams, Chargers marriage for Inglewood site may not work

By Jim Thomas


Rams owner Stan Kroenke has been unavailable to most media, but he recently met with the Los Angeles Times to unveil the plans for his proposed NFL stadium in Inglewood, Calif. In this file photo, he is shown before a Rams game in Buffalo. (AP Photo)

With two sites in the Los Angeles area vying for teams, and three “home markets” fighting to keep their teams from leaving, the NFL relocation issue is a Rubik’s Cube of scenarios and potential solutions.

There are several possibilities, but seemingly nothing that will make everybody — or even almost everybody — happy.

Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that perhaps the most palatable solution would be pairing owner Dean Spanos and his San Diego Chargers with Stan Kroenke’s Rams at Kroenke’s Inglewood stadium site.

But such a forced marriage may not be easy, and the reasoning goes deeper than general concerns about the Chargers being a Kroenke “tenant” in Inglewood.

In 2013, Spanos approached Kroenke about pairing up on the Inglewood/Hollywood Park site, according to league sources speaking on the condition of anonymity. It’s the same general area the Oakland Raiders and even the NFL itself had previously considered as a stadium site.

Initially, Kroenke was not aware the 60-acre tract owned by Wal-Mart was available, according to sources. In any event, Spanos didn’t hear back from Kroenke for weeks. Spanos later learned that Kroenke had excluded Spanos and purchased the land himself.

With that in mind, it’s difficult to imagine Spanos wishing to now join forces with Kroenke in Inglewood.

News of the Kroenke purchase became public on Jan. 31, 2014. Nearly a year later, on Jan. 4, 2015, Kroenke announced plans to build a stadium on that tract as part of a joint venture that included an adjoining site owned by Stockbridge Capital Group for a stadium, plus parking, business and residential development.

Spanos subsequently partnered with Raiders owner Mark Davis on the competing LA area stadium plan in Carson, Calif.

After Kroenke’s Inglewood end run, some observers believe the only way Spanos would now attempt to partner with Kroenke is if Spanos had no other stadium alternatives and some arrangements could be made to lessen any landlord-tenant status.

The Chargers declined to comment, and attempts to reach Kroenke for comment were not successful.

The cost of building the Inglewood stadium is expected to exceed $2 billion. Having two teams involved in one stadium makes much more sense financially, because it means twice the funds are available from the league’s G4 stadium funding program — about $200 million per team. Also, roughly twice the money can be raised through the sale of personal seat licenses to season-ticket holders because two fan bases are involved.

DEEP POCKETS


Listed as the NFL’s second wealthiest owner according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth of $7.6 billion, Kroenke doesn’t necessarily need money to make his Inglewood project work. But he may need votes to get league approval of his planned relocation of the Rams to LA. Votes could come by having Spanos involved in Inglewood.

It’s widely believed that Kroenke lacks the 24 necessary votes from the 32 league owners to approve a relocation of the Rams to Los Angeles. But the Rams believe they have enough votes to block the Chargers (and Raiders) from gaining approval for their Carson stadium site.

One way to break the stalemate could be having Spanos and the Chargers join forces with Kroenke and the Rams in Inglewood. Such a scenario would leave St. Louis in the cold in terms of keeping the Rams and leave Davis and the Raiders to fend for themselves in seeking a new stadium in Oakland or moving elsewhere.

Some observers around the league think Kroenke may argue that Los Angeles needs only one team at this point — the Rams — giving the Chargers and Raiders additional time to work out their stadium issues in their home markets. Maybe that breaks the stalemate; maybe it doesn’t.

OWNERS MEET NEXT WEEK


With NFL owners meeting in New York next week, relocation to Los Angeles again is on the agenda. Potential relocation fees, temporary stadium sites in LA, and the relocation timetable are expected to be discussed.

But it’s also possible the league could postpone relocation to Los Angeles for another year, giving all parties more time to achieve clarity.

There appears to be considerable support for Spanos among league owners. He is regarded as a good soldier who has been active in league affairs and committee work, and there is a realization that he has been trying to get a new stadium built in San Diego for more than a decade.

Meanwhile, Kroenke’s deep pockets get the attention of his fellow owners, but he is not heavily involved in the various league committees, and there are some who feel he isn’t engaged with fellow owners, particularly on league affairs. But Kroenke knows how to make deals, especially in real estate, and the maneuvering involving Spanos and Inglewood is only one example of how Kroenke seems to be a couple of steps ahead of everyone else.

In 1994, when the Rams were contemplating whether to move to St. Louis or stay in Anaheim, the team offered Kroenke the option of buying into the franchise and keeping it in Southern California, according to multiple sources. But Kroenke opted instead to buy in on a Rams franchise moving to St. Louis; he thought they would be more profitable at least on a short-term basis (five to 10 years) in Missouri. And indeed, with a new domed stadium and a favorable lease in St. Louis, the Rams were one of the league’s most profitable teams their first few seasons.

Years ago, Kroenke was on the Los Angeles stadium committee (which was disbanded for several years then reconstituted this past February as the Committee on Los Angeles Stadium Opportunities).

When it was mentioned by some observers years ago that Kroenke’s presence on the committee could help him in a future move to Los Angeles, it was pointed out that he was on the committee because of his real estate expertise, nothing more.

Years later, when Kroenke purchased the Inglewood tract, even NFL commissioner Roger Goodell cautioned against an overreaction at his annual Super Bowl news conference on Jan. 31, 2014. “Stan is a very successful developer,” Goodell said at the time. “He has billions of dollars of projects that are going on around the country in real estate development.”

The Kroenke Organizations released a statement at that time which read in part: “We have yet to decide what we are going to do with the property, but we will look at all options, as we do with all of our properties.”

Less than a year later, the Inglewood stadium plan was announced.

[BuiltRamTough]

So a real estate tycoon with Wal-Mart ties that is looking to relocate and has a connection with LA didn't know about the land that was for sale in Inglewood?

Oh please.

[OldSchool]

This article is such garbage. We know from previous articles that this isn't the sequence of events between Kroenke and Spanos regarding Inglewood. It's been documented and here's an article:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/new ... ewood-nfl/

Spanos was the first owner that was talked to about moving into the Inglewood site. He as the article states turned them down because he didn't like the freeway access. A year later the property comes to Kroenke's attention and he's told that Spanos has been pitched the site. Kroenke reaches out to Spanos and he again says no he doesn't like the site. Kroenke then goes and purchases the land and Spanos throws a fit. Spanos had first offer on the site and turned it down. Kroenke wanted to do business with Spanos and Spanos turned him down. Now a local St Louis media guy, and I generally like JT he's much better than his local brothers, comes up with a timeline that has Kroenke back stabbing Spanos? I smell a Fabiani.

[BuiltRamTough]

This article is such garbage. We know from previous articles that this isn't the sequence of events between Kroenke and Spanos regarding Inglewood. It's been documented and here's an article:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/new ... ewood-nfl/

Spanos was the first owner that was talked to about moving into the Inglewood site. He as the article states turned them down because he didn't like the freeway access. A year later the property comes to Kroenke's attention and he's told that Spanos has been pitched the site. Kroenke reaches out to Spanos and he again says no he doesn't like the site. Kroenke then goes and purchases the land and Spanos throws a fit. Spanos had first offer on the site and turned it down. Kroenke wanted to do business with Spanos and Spanos turned him down. Now a local St Louis media guy, and I generally like JT he's much better than his local brothers, comes up with a timeline that has Kroenke back stabbing Spanos? I smell a Fabiani.

Agreed. The media tries to paint a negative picture of Stan and a positive image of Dean. Smells like Fabiani.