[moklerman]

Lot of info but consolidates a lot of what's already been discussed. I bolded the red because I hadn't heard anything final on that subject.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-sn- ... story.html

NFL owner vote on relocation to L.A. expected in January

Art Rooney II, the influential Pittsburgh Steelers owner who chairs the NFL's Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, expects owners to vote in January on a team or teams relocating to L.A.

Rooney's comments came Wednesday after owners discussed L.A. during their fall meeting at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York.

"There's nothing for sure right now," he said. "We need to take the vote and see what the result is. ... I think there will be a vote."

Rooney believes the three teams backing two competing stadium plans in L.A. -- the San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders and St. Louis Rams -- will all file for relocation.

However, Eric Grubman, the NFL executive vice president who is the point man on L.A., doesn't think the owners are tied to a January vote

"There's nothing that locks us into January," he said. "There are any number of scenarios that could emerge. ... Are we so committed to January that we can't delay? The answer is no. It's as early as January and we've set it up to enable January. But we're not committed to January."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell echoed Rooney's prediction of a vote -- which would require 24 of the league's 32 owners to approve a move -- but didn't provide specifics on how the league would handle a potential stalemate between the rival plans.

The commissioner described the six-member L.A. committee as "very active" and quipped that the league has "almost exhausted them already."

Owners are scheduled to meet again in December in Dallas.

:::

The cross-ownership complications of St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke are over.

NFL owners on Wednesday approved Kroenke’s plan, which allows him to retain ownership of the Rams, and transfers ownership of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke. She is a Wal-Mart heiress, who, according to Forbes, is worth an estimated $4.6 billion.

The Nuggets and the Avalanche will be run by the Kroenkes' son, Josh.

Under league rules, an owner cannot own an NFL team in one city and another pro sports franchise in another NFL city (or potential NFL city, such as Los Angeles). The reason is, the league doesn’t want NFL owners competing with each other for sports/entertainment dollars in the same city.

For those reading tea leaves on the L.A. situation, the fact that Kroenke got a thumbs-up is noteworthy because his cross-ownership situation had been viewed as an irritant among some owners. With that behind him, it removes one of the hurdles in his path to a potential relocation to L.A.

:::

One of the significant challenges for the NFL in sorting out the Los Angeles situation is it involves pitting owner against owner, with business partners who normally work in relative harmony backing competing stadium sites in Inglewood and Carson.

The league has gone to great lengths to ensure competition between owners takes place mainly on the field, not for the sports dollar in a given city. Hence, the cross-ownership rules, which preclude someone from owning an NFL team and a different pro sports franchise in another U.S. city.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said the league is going to try to avoid turning the race for L.A. into a popularity contest among those owners considering a move.

“As owners, personal friendships come into play,” Irsay said. “But in business, mistakes are often made if they’re led by emotion. You have to be very thoughtful.

“I know each one wants to work it out at home. As owners, if we have to end up sorting it out and voting for two out of the three, that may be how it gets resolved. But hopefully there will be a lot of discussion behind the scenes where it works out that all parties are happy.”

NFL team owners Stan Kroenke and Dean Spanos discussed potential Southern California stadium locations -- including the site of the Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood -- over dinner in 2013, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting.

The report of the exchange, which the source described as "very amicable," sheds new light on the long-running competition to return the NFL to Los Angeles, as league owners discuss possible relocation of one or more teams during their fall meeting at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Wednesday.

No votes are expected at this meeting or during a scheduled owners gathering in December, as they continue to discuss how to resolve a complex situation that includes two stadium plans for L.A. and three home markets hoping to retain their franchises.

Kroenke, who owns the St. Louis Rams, and Spanos, owner of the San Diego Chargers, back competing proposals that offer starkly different visions to end the league’s two-decade absence from Los Angeles.

Kroenke’s proposal includes a domed stadium and an artificial playing surface in Inglewood. Spanos, who has teamed with the Oakland Raiders, has put forward an open-air, natural-grass facility adjacent to the 405 Freeway in Carson.

The idea of Kroenke and Spanos teaming up in Inglewood has been suggested as a solution to the conundrum, but nothing has come of previous discussions involving the site.

The Chargers, for example, had no interest in purchasing a 60-acre parcel of land owned by Wal-Mart on the periphery of the Hollywood Park site.

Kroenke bought the parcel, which isn’t large enough to be the site of a stadium on its own, in January 2014 and partnered with Stockbridge Capital, which controls the site’s remaining 238 acres, to propose a facility.

The Chargers and Stockbridge Capital had multiple phone conversations about the Hollywood Park site before the company’s deal with Kroenke, as part of the team’s wide-ranging effort to find a stadium solution after years of fruitless negotiations in San Diego. The conversations never developed into something more.

:::

National Car Rental secured the naming rights to the proposed riverfront stadium in St. Louis on Wednesday, pledging $158 million over 20 years. The agreement hinges on an NFL team -- the city is fighting to keep the Rams -- playing in the venue.

The move wasn't well-received by some in the NFL, however. They were puzzled that the deal was announced while league owners were meeting and didn't view the $7.9-million-per-year accord as particularly lucrative.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones jabbed the deal in a conversation with the Sports Business Journal, saying the amount "would buy a lobby" in an L.A. stadium.

The last time naming rights were sold for a proposed NFL stadium, Farmers Insurance pledged $700 million over 20 years for AEG's project in downtown L.A.

AEG abandoned the project -- known as Farmers Field -- earlier this year.

Neither of the current proposed stadiums in L.A. have sold naming rights.

[bubbaramfan]

An owners vote in January. So does Kroenke start building his stadium in December, or wait til the owners vote? If he start building in Dec. as he said, will that sway the owners vote?

[Hacksaw]

I think this article indicates that they 1st, couldn't get Stan and the Charaiders to work out an agreement, and 2nd, that they have to wait to see what StL and SD come up with first.

2 more months of this nasty business.

It's obviously no coincidence that the vote will come at the end of the season, but it contradicts earlier statements made by Goodell / Grubman that they would like to vote earlier to give the team or teams a chance to start doing business as early as possible.

I guess we will wait for leaks,, but what will give me the tell all is if Inglewood actually starts digging the giant hole sometime before an official announcement is made. That would indicate a move by the Rams with permission or not. But if they wait, it would be either because ESK has agreed to delay so the league can come out looking as if it's in control, or he is really waiting around for approval and will play the good soldier. (not very billionaire-esque)

Whether he abides by their initial vote before his counter or threat of lawsuit, it will be significantly cumbersome if the league publicly announces the winner(s). The Charaiders start preparations and ESK get's them to change their minds or a judge does. What then happens to the Charaiders? 'Sorry, you have to go back now'. That won't ever happen. It would also really put ESK in a bind and he's look real bad essentially going rogue.
I doubt ESK would allow that to happen to him, so my guess is all of the legal entanglements will be done before an announcement. If ESK is is going to fight then we might get wind of lawsuits being filed as well.

I guess so far we come away with nothing new except for the few facts like cross ownership is handled, SD is still fighting and StL is being given every chance in the world despite failing at to live up to any of their agreements or timelines. Not to mention the dubious way they are going about everything.

Our Rams are stuck in purgatory and so are we...

[Elvis]

There was also a little talk by Grubman that the vote could be pushed back if any of the 3 teams were in the playoffs...

[Hacksaw]

There was also a little talk by Grubman that the vote could be pushed back if any of the 3 teams were in the playoffs...

When they made that earlier statement about giving the head start back in the off season, the Rams and Raiders were the 2 teams that perhaps Grubman didn't worry about making the playoffs. Now not as much.

[The Ripper]

The delay till January is only if there's still a stalemate. Nothing has changed. The "vote will be only a formality if a deal is reached and they will wait on the announcement till the season is over or after the SB.

[Elvis]

Vinny's latest, no real news:

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/2015100 ... os-angeles

Bonsignore: NFL owners at stalemate on Los Angeles

By Vincent Bonsignore, Los Angeles Daily News

POSTED: 10/08/15, 8:39 AM PDT

NEW YORK — After two long days of meetings, much of which had to do with the three-team, two-stadium race to bring the National Football League back to Los Angeles, the 32 NFL owners left New York fairly certain of one thing as it relates to Los Angeles.

A league vote is coming, probably in early January, intended to sort out where owners truly stand in the fight between the San Diego Chargers’ and Oakland Raiders’ bids to relocate to a shared stadium in Carson and the St. Louis Rams’ bid to move to their proposed stadium in Inglewood.

“We need to take a vote and see what the result is,” said Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who chairs the NFL’s six-member Los Angeles owners committee. “I think there will be a vote.”

Echoed NFL vice president Eric Grubman, the man entrusted with overseeing the Los Angeles process at the league level: “We’re on track to vote in January.”

Left unsaid, and much more complex, is whether that vote will actually decide a winner or loser. And if not, what mechanisms are in place to break a stalemate?

More and more, it appears there is a divide among owners whether to back Stan Kroenke’s Inglewood dreams or the Carson plan put forth by Dean Spanos and Mark Davis.

“I think it’s pretty clear there is a stalemate,” a high ranking NFL official said.

You can spend hours nitpicking the reasons some owners side with Kroenke and others with Spanos and Davis.

There’s the excitement and confidence of Kroenke’s grand vision of what a Rams return to Los Angeles should look like and his deep pockets to see it through.

There’s the understanding for Spanos and Davis’ long-time stadium plights in their respective home markets of San Diego and Oakland and the glaring needs to settle their long-range futures.

So there are compelling reasons to back both projects, which is why owners seem to be at a standstill trying to figure out exactly what direction to take.

And why there are doubts either side will garner the necessary 24 votes to push its bid over the top.

“There was always going to be a vote,” another high-ranking league official said. “The issue is whether it’s a contest or a coronation.”

The challenge facing the NFL between now and a January vote isn’t just building a consensus for one or the other, but having a plan in place to deal with any stalemate.

Or breaking the standstill before it actually goes to the floor.

While there is uncertainty relating to other issues — a temporary home to play in while a stadium is being built, the relocation fees, reaching out to the Los Angeles market for ticket sales — the league is confident it can execute plans to deal with them between now and decision time.

More important is declaring a winner, or having a strategy in place to break a tie.

Does the matter go to the six-owner L.A. committee? How much weight does the expected recommendation the committee will make to fellow owners and Commissioner Roger Goodell carry?

Does Goodell take over and use his power and influence to sway a preferred outcome?

Or does an influential owner or group of owners step in to direct a summit involving the three owners and a negotiated outcome?

After privately scanning owners at the conclusion of this week’s meetings, it seems much more likely a vote will yield no decided winner and that the next step should be a sitdown among Davis, Kroenke and Spanos.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay predicted as much.

“I think it (will be directed by) ownership as a group,” Irsay said. “We talk amongst ourselves when we get in a room and it gets to the point where it’s time to make a decision, and that may be in January or what have you. I think it’s going to lead to that point where you might huddle people and say, ‘Hey, let’s take a break and let these two teams get together and talk about this or that,’” Irsay said.

The Rams appear open to such a meeting, insisting their stadium can accommodate a second team on a low-risk deal they believe is financially beneficial to either the Chargers or Raiders.

They believe they can offer assistance to the third team to help facilitate a new stadium in their home market or a move to a new stadium in one of the markets that soon opens up.

Davis said this week he is willing to sitting down with Kroenke and Davis.

“I’m open to anything,” said Davis, who is also talking to a prospective partner who can inject capital and entertainment and marketing connections to help increase L.A. revenue streams should the Raiders end up in the second-biggest market in the country.

The Chargers have given no real indication they’d be open to a summit — a sound strategy considering they entered this race with the conviction of winning — and will hold firm until it’s determined whether they have the necessary support to move.

“I suspect if it’s determined the support isn’t there you’ll see people beginning to act in self interest,” one high-ranking NFL source said.

The league is a ways away from that point.

And more and more, it looks like owners are in a stalemate.

“There’s lots to figure out,” one league executive said. “But three months is a long time.”

[Elvis]

[BuiltRamTough]

Fred called this months ago.

Who the hell is his sources? Kudos to Roggin.

[Elvis]

So assuming any/all of this is right:

The owners like Dean, wanna do right by him.

The owners want Dean and Stan to sit down and work it out.

Dean says no.

Owners stop liking Dean?