It's coming now because of new, recent developments; the NFL has appointed a chairman for an LA move committee, and appears to be, for the first time, intent on putting a team or teams there. Honestly, as a STL fan, this is very concerning. For the first time I'm legitimately concerned, and it's tough to just brush this stuff aside and just watch the games.Its been like this since before the lease expired. Nothing new.
And as @mr.stlouis said the timing of this is terrible. They had all off season to talk about this, and it comes eight before opening day.
Other things besides the amount he would have to kick in that would make LA a smart move potentially (not saying it is). Attendance issues in LA for the Rams were only for a couple of years....but LA will always be a Dodgers and Lakers town first. That tune will not change.I don't live in St. Louis or LA and don't necessarily have a dog in this fight, but I did save a chunk of a chat from JT from last year which was pretty interesting in terms of numbers:
Looking at that, I just don't see how it makes sense for Stan to pack up and move to LA business-wise in the near and even intermediate term. For all of the stadium proposals out there, he's not going to own the building in any one of them. He's going to have a fight on his hands from at least Alex Spanos of the Chargers as well, and that could split the owners. And after the move, he'll have California taxes to deal with, which are much higher than Missouri's, as California is in top 3 for highest tax burdens in the nation. When you couple that with attendance issues that both the Rams and Raiders had when in that area, it really begins to be a dicey proposition business-wise, at least from my view.
Honestly, I really don't get the whole hoopla with LA as being such an important market for the NFL to have a team in. Yes, it's very large, but nothing stops LA from getting NFL games on TV now. But if a team moves there, and doesn't sell out and suffers local blackouts the TV market will take a hit - and so will the NFL in their TV deals.
To me it almost seems like the NFL benefits more from not having a team in LA and using it as a bargaining chip than they would from actually having a team there.
I dont get the point of running this story now either. .
Ok, I buy that.The more stories about this that run, the more people care from day to day, and state and city leaders do pay attention to things like that. For the people like me who live in STL, it's almost as big a concern as the season. They're running it now because this city is talking about it now.
It's coming now because of new, recent developments; the NFL has appointed a chairman for an LA move committee, and appears to be, for the first time, intent on putting a team or teams there. Honestly, as a STL fan, this is very concerning. For the first time I'm legitimately concerned, and it's tough to just brush this stuff aside and just watch the games.
It would be nice to hear anything that supported optimism for the Rams future here. All we've been hearing is doom for a while now, and it wears on you.
Anyway you put it.....they are moving to LA. Return of the LARams...coming to a stadium near you.
There's been all kinds of "developments" for a few years now. It's again, nothing new.
This is good for a bye week, not before week 1. All I'm saying.
Yeah this has gone on for many, many years. The list of teams that were rumored to be on the way to LA is an exact match for the list of teams that have been in the mix for a new stadium.
The Rams aren't going anywhere but into a nice shiny new venue owned by SK in STL. And if the NFL puts a team in LA it will struggle to fill the seats..........the demographics in that market have shifted so much in the last quarter of a century..........more than any other city in the nation.
Even the Yankees don't sell out every game.
I'm not going to proclaim the Rams will indeed stay here or move, but the signs have been more toward the side of staying than leaving.
-They've completely revamped the fan connection, from social media to community service, to rewarding the season ticket holders. This is lightyears away from the 2005, 2006 years when I hoped the Rams would be involved in something like that.
-Continual improvement to the dome interior and gameday experience (I can notice that even through a radio stream).
-Improvement of the training camp experience. I wish I could get a chance to go now, vs. when I did back in 2011. It seems to have changed dramatically.
-They are actually building a team trying to win, and the improvement is showing. I would like to think a team fixing to move doesn't tend to do that, or does it very half-assed.
Those are all minor things, but together and over time shows commitment from the Rams side and cause increased support from the fan side.