The Rams & The CVC Want The Same Thing

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Medium-sized Lebowski
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
35,576
Name
The Dude
By Charles Jaco

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ST. LOUIS, MO (KPLR) – Sometimes in negotiations you’re both talking about the same thing without knowing it. It’s a common experience in things like labor talks, contract talks and being married. Anyway, that’s what’s going on now in talks between the Rams and the city on upgrading the dome. Neither side will say it publicly. But they both want the same thing. They want the Rams out of the dome.

Why? Look at it from the rams point of view. They want out because the dome can’t be upgraded to what they want. They want out because compared to newer stadiums in places like Dallas, Phoenix or even Indianapolis. Our dome seems small and dark and outdated. They want out because rams owner Stan Kroenke would really, really like to have a stadium he owns.

Look at it from the city’s point of view. Because of the NFL season the city convention and visitors commission can’t book big conventions into the dome five months out of the year. And a few thousand church people, NRA members or anybody else packing the dome for a convention. They spend a heck of a lot more money than the crowd coming to eight rams home regular season games.

Right now, both sides are arguing over fixing up the dome in front of three neutral arbitrators. What they should be doing is agreeing that the Rams will leave the dome and start talking about a new stadium for the Rams. New stadiums cost around a billion dollars and Stan Kroenke would probably have to agree to pay for almost all of it himself. Taxpayers in Missouri are in no mood to cough up cash for a new stadium.

But since that’s the real issue why not talk about it? Neither side wants the rams to continue playing in the dome. New NFL rules make it almost impossible for an owner to move a team these days. So both sides should be discussing the real issue. Where can you build a new stadium in or near St. Louis? What’s the cost? And who pays?

I’m Charles Jaco and that’s Jacology.
 

libertadrocks

Hall of Fame
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
2,224
Hmm... Interesting perspective. I think he's right about the Rams POV. IDK about the city.

I would love to see a new stadium(outdoor please) but I cant see Kroenke coughing up that much dough on a new stadium. It'll have to be closer to a even split.
 

ZGare

UDFA
Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
78
I was wondering if this kind of thinking might be going on behind the scenes. When I renewed my Rams tickets, (I am a Charter PSL holder since 1995), I told the Rams I wouldn't renew next year if they don't come to an agreement by December, since that would mean they plan to move to LA. The Rams guy on the phone reminded me that if Kroenke wants to build a new stadium in Chesterfield, he would need to do these same steps to get out of the current leases. I didn't bring up Chesterfield. He did.

But all of this might be just to keep somebody in the seats for 2012, 2013, and 2014 before bolting. Up until the cancellation of the London Games, no team had done more to drive away local fans than the Rams. Other owners make commitments to their cities to get commitments from their fans. The Rams waffle on commitment to St. Louis. What do they want from the fans?
 

bluecoconuts

Legend
Joined
May 28, 2011
Messages
13,073
libertadrocks said:
I would love to see a new stadium(outdoor please) but I cant see Kroenke coughing up that much dough on a new stadium. It'll have to be closer to a even split.

Yeah that's what I'm thinking as well. Unless he's really really set on keeping the team in St Louis, so much so that he'll pay for most of it, the LA offer (they pay for the stadium, the move and any penalty fees) will start to look really good.

But I think he wants to stay in St. Louis, so he wants to work on upgrading the dome... Major upgrades that really make it a new place though.
 

ZGare

UDFA
Joined
Apr 29, 2011
Messages
78
The St. Louis metro area is 16th out of 30 largest metro areas with NFL teams.

NFL Cities:
Pop. Rank Metro Population (in millions) City Name NFL Team (from Sporcle.com)
1. 19 New York Giants, Jets
2. 9.6 Chicago Bears
3. 6.3 Dallas Cowboys
4. 5.8 Philadelphia Eagles
5. 5.7 Houston Texans
6. 5.41 Miami Dolphins
7. 5.37 Atlanta Falcons
8. 5.35 Washington Redskins
9. 4.5 Boston Patriots
10. 4.4 Detroit Lions
11. 4.28 Phoenix Cardinals
12. 4.27 San Francisco 49ers, Raiders
13. 3.3 Seattle Seahawks
14. 3.2 Minneapolis Vikings
15. 3.0 San Diego Chargers
16. 2.8 St. Louis Rams
17. 2.7 Tampa Buccaneers
18. 2.6 Baltimore Ravens
19. 2.5 Denver Broncos
20. 2.4 Pittsburgh Steelers
21. 2.2 Cincinnati Bengals
22. 2.1 Cleveland Browns
23. 2.0 Kansas City Chiefs
24. 1.71 Indianapolis Colts
25. 1.70 Charlotte Panthers
26. 1.6 Nashville Titans
27. 1.3 Jacksonville Jaguars
28. 1.13 New Orleans Saints
29. 1.12 Buffalo Bills
30. 0.3 Green Bay Packers
 

HeiseNBerg

Pro Bowler
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
1,301
libertadrocks said:
I would love to see a new stadium(outdoor please) but I cant see Kroenke coughing up that much dough on a new stadium.

He's done it before in Denver -- the Pepsi Center (where the Nuggets and Avalanche play) is owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. Since he owns the building, he gets the biggest piece of the revenue pie.

No doubt, a football stadium will cost a lot more to build than a 20,000-seat indoor arena. But for guys like Kroenke, how much something costs is a secondary concern -- they're more interested in how much revenue there is to be gained.

So, I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility.
 

RamFan503

Grill and Brew Master
Moderator
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
33,807
Name
Stu
HeiseNBerg said:
libertadrocks said:
I would love to see a new stadium(outdoor please) but I cant see Kroenke coughing up that much dough on a new stadium.

He's done it before in Denver -- the Pepsi Center (where the Nuggets and Avalanche play) is owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. Since he owns the building, he gets the biggest piece of the revenue pie.

No doubt, a football stadium will cost a lot more to build than a 20,000-seat indoor arena. But for guys like Kroenke, how much something costs is a secondary concern -- they're more interested in how much revenue there is to be gained.

So, I wouldn't rule it out as a possibility.

Exactly. He is no doubt going to get the best deal he can. But all things considered, if he can own the complex, surrounding real estate, and pull a better return on his money, that is exactly what he would prefer. I can't see him balking at spending the money if he sees a much greater ROI.