Rams owner Stan Kroenke won more than just L.A.

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RamBill

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Rams owner Stan Kroenke won more than just L.A.
By Dan Wetzel

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rams--...-the-american-sports-landscape-055506325.html

DENVER – Stan Kroenke owns three major professional sports franchises in the Denver area: the NBA Nuggets, the NHL Avalanche and the MLS Rapids, plus the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League.

When he is here to tend to their business, which is often, he lives in a spacious penthouse jutting out of one side and on top of the Pepsi Center, the 18,000-seat downtown arena he also owns.

It's an incredible home, spacious and brilliantly decorated, with multiple outdoor spaces and views of both downtown and the Rocky Mountains in the distance. Once inside, it feels like a standalone home off in some gated community in the suburbs, not something that is an elevator ride from a raucous arena.

"Convenient commute," Kroenke said with a laugh to Yahoo Sports on Saturday night while watching his Nuggets defeat the Detroit Pistons.

It's every young sports fans' dream – can't we just live in the arena?

"Sports and real estate development is a large part of what we do," said Kroenke, who Forbes estimates is worth $7.7 billion.

Sports and real estate. Real estate and sports.

It's how Stan Kroenke, despite lacking the big personality or high-profile of a Jerry Jones or a Mark Cuban, has emerged as one of the world's preeminent professional sports owners and, with construction set to begin on a state-of-the-art, 100,000-capacity, clear-roofed stadium in a 300-acre development in Inglewood, Calif., undeniably one of the most powerful figures in sports in this country.

The franchises here in Colorado are big, his other two are bigger. There is the London-based Arsenal Football Club of the English Premier League and its home arena, Emirates Stadium, the third largest in England.

Then there are the Rams of the NFL, which after approval this month from the NFL will leave St. Louis and return to their Los Angeles roots and into what is expected to be the envy of any venue in the world. It was Kroenke, who after two-plus decades solved the NFL's L.A. riddle, something many billionaires, businessmen, entertainment moguls, governors, mayors and so on couldn't.

"The NFL had a problem out there, I was on the committee [looking at relocation possibilities] for years," Kroenke said. "We never got anything done. It's hard to get things done in California."

Hard, but, it turns out, not impossible.

*****

Kroenke, 68, grew up in rural Missouri, where as a child he served as a bookkeeper to his father, a small business owner. He later attended the University of Missouri, where he also earned an MBA. He focused on real estate and operates a vast array of companies and interests, although he still carries himself with a calm, down-home style that belies his immense wealth. His preferred drink is a very cold Coors Light. His wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, is herself a billionaire, part of the Wal-Mart family fortune.



This is the background, the experience, the financial might, the business acumen and the quiet but determined personality that was probably required to solve one of professional sports' most vexing challenges.
Kroenke was brought in as a local Missouri-based minority owner for the Rams in 1994 to help move the franchise to St. Louis, where the city had built, entirely with public funds, a dome stadium that lacked a tenant. In 2010 he took over full ownership, but plans for a new stadium were slow and complicated and forced him to find alternative options.

In L.A. he quietly purchased the land, most of it the old Hollywood Park racetrack, to put up a sporting palace.

"As a real-estate developer, its 300 acres," Kroenke said. "Three-hundred acres in a city like Los Angeles, in the middle of everything, is very, very unusual to say the least. So that's a real-estate developer's dream."

The project will include much-needed retail, housing and office space for the area, plus the cutting-edge stadium. Costs are expected to soar well over $2 billion. While the NFL has granted San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos a one-year window to join Kroenke as a partner on the project, even if Kroenke goes it alone, there will be no direct public funding, almost unheard of in sports business these days.

The plan, both the concept of the stadium and the competency of Kroenke's team, overwhelmed Spanos' attempt for a joint stadium with the Raiders down in Carson, Calif. The vote went 30-2. Now they are awaiting Spanos' decision. If Spanos passes, Raiders owner Mark Davis has one year to consider coming also.

"There is tremendous excitement," Kroenke said. "It's amazing."



Last Monday, the Rams offered a chance for fans to get on a list to buy up to eight tickets each for games the next three years at the L.A. Coliseum, while the new venue is being built. It's already approaching 50,000, an eye-popping number even for the NFL, and if all come through it would easily exhaust supply.

While the league never doubted there would be interest, the vision for the epic stadium closer to the city's moneyed Westside is undoubtedly a factor. This is L.A., where they expect big things. So too is the fact it is the Rams that are returning, where a fan base that grew up with them are now in middle age.

Kroenke related a story about a man who was wearing a Rams jersey during the week of the NFL vote as a public display of hope.

"He said, 'I grew up rooting for the Rams and when they left for St. Louis [in 1995] it was tough for me. So this could be the best week I've had in 21 years,'" Kroenke said.

*****

The process, of course, wasn't all fun. Kroenke notes that the league purposely makes relocation difficult because "it should be difficult." It is almost always preferred that teams remain in their current markets. However, the realities of the stadium lease in St. Louis and the enormous possibilities of moving to the nation's entertainment capital was too much. He's a businessman and has never apologized for it.

Kroenke talks of needing rhino hide to deal with some of the anger back in St. Louis – the reaction could be described as nuclear, if not worse. The truth, however, was he never misled about the possibility of a move, speaking bluntly about the challenges of staying and the possibilities of leaving from the start.

At least some of the local media, most notably Bryan Burwell, the late, great St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist, paid attention and wrote extensively about Kroenke demonstrating a willingness to make an unpopular business move. The portrayals through the years weren't always flattering, but they spoke to an owner who wasn't hiding behind glad-handing or phony news conferences (he rarely speaks to the media at all).

Perhaps no one else paid attention or believed Burwell that it could happen. Perhaps they thought L.A. was impossible, or underestimated Kroenke. Perhaps they just couldn't see past the Arch. This despite year after year Kroenke making clear statements and buying land in Southern California that spoke to his resolve.

Kroenke is acutely aware of how some fans in Missouri feel about the team returning to L.A. He also knows there is no simple answer that solves that.

"There's an emotional side to it," Kroenke said. "I understand that. I also think that people in Missouri understand you can't just throw rational thought to the wind. You have to do something that makes sense. And by the way, the league and my partners are not going to let me stay in a deal that doesn't make any sense."

Business is business. It's what got the Rams out of L.A. in the first place, after all. Still, what do you say to the regular guy who just wanted to have a team?

"I say that 22 years ago they had a stadium that was built and it had no team," Kroenke said. "And we had a lot to do with bringing a team in for 21 years. And by the way we won a Super Bowl and participated in another one. Some people never do who have been around the league a long time, so I'm proud of that.

"I understand the emotional side of it. But it has to make sense."

*****

There is little question that L.A. makes sense. On a macro scale having a team and stadium there rather than Missouri is non-comparable. It's not just the Rams and potentially the Chargers or Raiders who will play at the new stadium, set to open in 2019. It will assuredly host Super Bowls, Final Fours, college regular-season and bowl games, not to mention concerts, rodeos, political conventions and anything else they can think up.

Jerry Jones has said he expects it to eclipse his AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, as the country's finest venue.

"The commissioner [Roger Goodell] said he thought it would be the greatest sports complex in the world," Kroenke said. "I'm proud of our architects. It's a great place that everyone knows, Hollywood Park. I love it. We've got a great design, a spectacular stadium and it's a fantastic place to do everything.

"It's an opportunity that doesn't come along every day."

Actually, it was there for the taking for two decades. No one could get it done. Stan Kroenke, a guy who cumulatively lives months each year inside a sports venue, did. Maybe that total immersion was it. He was a billionaire who was hands-on every step in the way.

The hardest part done, the NFL political battle and relocation behind him, L.A. is now more about fun, the dream project to see fulfilled. The new stadium will have everything, except one thing – a built-in home like this one.
 

Ramatik

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That was a really good article. Stan is quite the legend. I think the Rams got really lucky after suffering through the Georgia years.
 

RAGRam

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That was a really good article. Stan is quite the legend. I think the Rams got really lucky after suffering through the Georgia years.

:rolllaugh:

oh wait you weren't joking? That's on me, carry on.
 

Ramatik

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:rolllaugh:

oh wait you weren't joking? That's on me, carry on.

No, I wasn't. Georgia took a perennial powerhouse of a team and destroyed it.
I think she killed her husband. I know she ran the son out of the business his dad had groomed him for.
Georgia followed her greed to a city that made a deal it couldn't uphold.
She got lucky accidentally with a no name Quarterback, a great trade and a good draft. Never happened again.
She left the team in a crumbling p.o.s. stadium.

Stan is putting the Rams in the Greatest monument ever built to sports. He brought them back home. (Hopefully he fixes the colors).

I feel that this team has been building. I like the foundation. We all know that you need a little luck. The injury bug needs to stay away. This is a playoff team. And maybe even a contender.

I was not in favor of the Fisher hire. But, he's done a good job. I think they are on the very edge. So, we'll see what happens this year. At some point you gotta make your own luck as well.

In summary, nah, I wasn't kidding.

I'm very happy with Stan.

He's a man that get's things done in a Big Way.

Its nice to have an owner who gets his way and gets it done.
 

blackbart

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I agree a good read and nice to finally see someone put a piece together with some input from Mr Kroenke, where has that been all these years StLToday????

Everyone knew it would not be popular but as the article stated it was there for the taking and he got it done after the commission in StL failed to hold up their end of the bargain with the EJD. I feel for the people in StL losing a second team to a move but when you compare the 2 opportunities where would you put your money when trying to rebuild a franchise?

I also agree about Georgia, she was a viper who destroyed the team.
 

Roman Snow

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I admire Stan. He is a great business mind. We don't need to see sappy emotion. Although I would like him to reach out early to some of the LA legends like Youngblood and Dryer and let them know they are welcome and valued. They are family.
 

RamzFanz

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I admire Stan. He is a great business mind. We don't need to see sappy emotion. Although I would like him to reach out early to some of the LA legends like Youngblood and Dryer and let them know they are welcome and valued. They are family.

First you may have to tell him who they are.

Kroenke talks of needing rhino hide to deal with some of the anger back in St. Louis – the reaction could be described as nuclear, if not worse. The truth, however, was he never misled about the possibility of a move, speaking bluntly about the challenges of staying and the possibilities of leaving from the start.

Come on now. That's just ridiculous. His ONLY quotes about the Rams were how STL deserved a team and how he would do everything he could to keep them here, which, in the end, meant doing nothing. Literally, he said he would do everything he could and he literally offered nothing. Nada, zip, zilch. I've let go of the sour grapes, but this is rewriting history.

I agree a good read and nice to finally see someone put a piece together with some input from Mr Kroenke, where has that been all these years StLToday????

Some input? Did you think he wasn't offered the chance? Did you think he was ignored? Really????

People, Stan Kroenke will drop LA in a heartbeat and move the Rams if he gets a better deal. You can bookmark that statement for historical reference down the road. I get how cool this is going to be for LA fans, I'm envious, but painting Stan as open and honest and a Rams fan is not reflected anywhere in his history.
 

bluecoconuts

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Some input? Did you think he wasn't offered the chance? Did you think he was ignored? Really????

People, Stan Kroenke will drop LA in a heartbeat and move the Rams if he gets a better deal. You can bookmark that statement for historical reference down the road. I get how cool this is going to be for LA fans, I'm envious, but painting Stan as open and honest and a Rams fan is not reflected anywhere in his history.

I don't think Stan wanted to talk to the media in St Louis, because a fair amount of them were attacking him. Shane Gray just recently wrote an article, and it's very unprofessional, Randy was doing the same thing.. Jim Thomas was the only one who made an attempt to refrain, but I'm pretty sure that Kroenke didn't see the point during the process.. After the process, from a few reports the media in St Louis were quite nasty after the announcement, so why would he want to give them the time?

Stan wont be dropping LA barring some unforeseen disaster that makes LA impossible. You don't drop down nearly 3 billion dollars, and the many months of work just to up and leave at the drop of a dime, LA is his legacy move more than anything.
 

RamzFanz

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I don't think Stan wanted to talk to the media in St Louis, because a fair amount of them were attacking him. Shane Gray just recently wrote an article, and it's very unprofessional, Randy was doing the same thing.. Jim Thomas was the only one who made an attempt to refrain, but I'm pretty sure that Kroenke didn't see the point during the process.. After the process, from a few reports the media in St Louis were quite nasty after the announcement, so why would he want to give them the time?

Don't even know what to say. Stan was treated with nothing but respect before he clammed up. If revising history makes LA Rams fans feel better about Stan, have at it. He's not STL's issue anymore.

Stan wont be dropping LA barring some unforeseen disaster that makes LA impossible. You don't drop down nearly 3 billion dollars, and the many months of work just to up and leave at the drop of a dime, LA is his legacy move more than anything.

If in 5 years London said we'll build you a 5 billion dollar stadium, you can sell yours for more than it cost to build to a new LA team, and we'll guarantee a sell out for 5 years, Stan would clam up all over again and begin packing. These stars may never align, he's at the top of the heap and will probably never get a better deal, but I think we all know he would. You do realise he happily helped move the Rams away from LA for profit once already, yes?
 

bluecoconuts

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Don't even know what to say. Stan was treated with nothing but respect before he clammed up. If revising history makes LA Rams fans feel better about Stan, have at it. He's not STL's issue anymore.

I didn't read the original post close enough, I thought he was asking about recent articles, so I was talking about now... Stan has been talking to the media now, some LA media guys and national media guys.. It's obvious that he doesn't like the spotlight, and he'll probably go back into the shadows soon (if not already) until Inglewood is built, then he'll pop back out for a short while.. The guy doesn't want to be in front of cameras all the time, I don't see how that's a fault, some people just don't like it. Regardless, he didn't talk to anyone during the entire process though, that's no fault of anyone really, but it's understandable why.

If in 5 years London said we'll build you a 5 billion dollar stadium, you can sell yours for more than it cost to build to a new LA team, and we'll guarantee a sell out for 5 years, Stan would clam up all over again and begin packing. These stars may never align, he's at the top of the heap and will probably never get a better deal, but I think we all know he would. You do realise he happily helped move the Rams away from LA for profit once already, yes?

Well sure, if we're just throwing out random scenarios and saying "what-if" then we can propose a million different ways where Kroenke leaves LA.. I'm talking about realistic scenarios scenarios though, realistically is he going to leave LA? No. He helped move the Rams away from LA because he was trying to get into the NFL club and got boxed out from buying the Patriots. I'm not saying that Kroenke doesn't want to make profits though.
 

ReddingRam

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I don't think Stan wanted to talk to the media in St Louis, because a fair amount of them were attacking him. Shane Gray just recently wrote an article, and it's very unprofessional, Randy was doing the same thing.. Jim Thomas was the only one who made an attempt to refrain, but I'm pretty sure that Kroenke didn't see the point during the process.. After the process, from a few reports the media in St Louis were quite nasty after the announcement, so why would he want to give them the time?

Stan wont be dropping LA barring some unforeseen disaster that makes LA impossible. You don't drop down nearly 3 billion dollars, and the many months of work just to up and leave at the drop of a dime, LA is his legacy move more than anything.
Not only that .... does anyone really think the NFL will let the Rams move AGAIN? Naw. They better make this work, because it's the last stop.
 

OldSchool

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People, Stan Kroenke will drop LA in a heartbeat and move the Rams if he gets a better deal. You can bookmark that statement for historical reference down the road. I get how cool this is going to be for LA fans, I'm envious, but painting Stan as open and honest and a Rams fan is not reflected anywhere in his history.

I'm sorry but that comment, and you're not the only one I see making it across many Rams forums, makes absolutely no sense. I get the salt directed to Stan and I don't blame anybody for having it. But lets analyze a few things with this statement.

He didn't receive any offer from LA. He went out and purchased land and fought for the right to build his own stadium on that land. He could have gone out and sold the Rams to many different open cities, including London, to try to get himself a "better deal". Didn't happen, he's not taking taxpayer money he's not getting any free rides. He could have chosen a path of least resistance but didn't. He bought land and fought for the right to put the Rams on it. He's putting down $2+ billion dollars for this development that includes what the other NFL owners described as a football palace and the jewel of the NFL. He, and his partners, are going to make a fortune off of it which I think we can all agree is his #1 goal in life.

He already had the opportunity to go out and find the best deal he could get for himself. And for him that's having total control over his stadium and the surrounding area(something many of us myself included stressed and were scoffed at for it). Never in the process with Inglewood did he ask for money or a sweetheart deal.

Now lets look at it from what the NFL will do if he tries to move down the road. You may remember that each team filing for relocation had to agree to several things. One they couldn't sue the NFL for the way the voting went and the decisions that were made. Secondly and most important they agreed to very heavy and strict fines and punishments for selling their team or again trying to relocate after moving to LA. There's two heavy penalties that add to the logical reasons why he won't "jump at a better deal" down the road. It just doesn't make sense when you honestly look at the situation without salt colored glasses to think he'll relocate again for a "better deal" he's got a billion dollar cash cow tied to a team returning to a city that loves it and hasn't had an NFL team in 20 years. Simple logic tells us he won't move again.
 

FrankenRam

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I agree a good read and nice to finally see someone put a piece together with some input from Mr Kroenke, where has that been all these years StLToday????
......

You have got to be kidding. He never wanted to talk with anyone in STL. What a freakin' joke.
 

blackbart

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First you may have to tell him who they are.



Come on now. That's just ridiculous. His ONLY quotes about the Rams were how STL deserved a team and how he would do everything he could to keep them here, which, in the end, meant doing nothing. Literally, he said he would do everything he could and he literally offered nothing. Nada, zip, zilch. I've let go of the sour grapes, but this is rewriting history.



Some input? Did you think he wasn't offered the chance? Did you think he was ignored? Really????

People, Stan Kroenke will drop LA in a heartbeat and move the Rams if he gets a better deal. You can bookmark that statement for historical reference down the road. I get how cool this is going to be for LA fans, I'm envious, but painting Stan as open and honest and a Rams fan is not reflected anywhere in his history.
Yeah honestly the StL media is bush league and apparently had no clue how to get an interview with the man. Now less than a month after they are moving to LA and an article like this comes out. Pretty simple.