Demoff: Move to LA in the works since summer of 2013

[ReddingRam]

It's a difficult situation to be in if you're Demoff. One the one hand he has to keep the confidence of his boss and not leak any sensitive information; as well as keep the fan base from revolting during a process in which Stan was actively looking to split. KD has been one of the biggest advocates of the city while they were there, and orchestrated some rather large scale philanthropic events for the community. He made significant strides in scaling the fan base in the region, and did a great job of bringing the community and team together for almost two decades. I don't think any of that should be overlooked.

Yes, he could have been more forthcoming with the residents of Missouri during the process, but that's not a realistic expectation for something of this scale and magnitude. Maybe they were going to wait on the St Louis proposal and entertain their stadium deal up to the point where Stan had definitively made up his mind. At that point, it's a little too late for him to make Demoff spill the beans and stop the distribution of politispeak. All I know is, being 3 years out from a move (if that's what they ultimately decided 3 years ago) is not the right time to tell the existing fans that they're freaked. Did he lie? I don't know. Looks that way. But again, it's a tough spot to be in.

It's called "big business" and it's nothing new.

 

[-X-]

It's called "big business" and it's nothing new.

Yeah, I know. I've seen it played out before. I just wanted to post a reminder of all the good things they've done there.

 

[bluecoconuts]

It sounded more to me that Demoff was upset about losing Bradford again, essentially ending his time in St Louis so he focused more on the stadium to distract him.. Which is understandable, since he couldn't control the fact he lost his QB. I don't see anything to suggest they decided to just simply tank.

 

[-X-]

I don't see anything to suggest they decided to just simply tank.

Was a foregone conclusion once that happened, I think.
Nothing they could do at that point.

 

[ReddingRam]

Yeah, I know. I've seen it played out before. I just wanted to post a reminder of all the good things they've done there.

For sure. It's just that so many don't get it and think that a billion dollar business is going to act any different than any other billion dollar business just because it's a sports team. They still use politics, leverage and bottom line outcomes to ensure they profit and grow. Might seem callus ... .but that's how the world works.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

I'm coming from a neutral site, but wanted them to stay in STL for biased reasons (it's only like 6 hours away from me).

That said, I can't trust these guys again. Ever. Not Stan, not KD, no one. You can't come on the air and assure loyal STL fans that you expect the Rams to be right in St. Louis. He can't promise STL fans that the LA purchase was "normal business" and promise fans that no land purchase is for a stadium. The owner can't stay in his only address to STL he going to do everything he can to keep the Rams in St. Louis.



Now he goes on and says this has been planned 2013? C'mon that is as slimy as it gets. If they wanted to move to LA, fine. It was their right too based on the dome contract. I'd have more respect for them if they just kept their answers vague like "we'll do what is best for the team" or whatever instead of lying.

They wanted to move earlier but the league didn't let them.

Blame the NFL not the Rams.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Was a foregone conclusion once that happened, I think.
Nothing they could do at that point.

That's what I figured, at that point of the process, they were less than 6 months away from announcing the stadium, they knew there was little/no substantial progress on the St Louis stadium front and they were well involved in the LA design with the support of the NFL.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

Remember, the Rams never asked for a new stadium. STL tried to force the Rams to stay by doing the whole stadium dance directly with the NFL.

This whole process could have been a lot smoother if the Rams left after the 2014 season. STL wouldn't have spend the money and more importantly, false hope.

 

[Angry Ram]

They wanted to move earlier but the league didn't let them.

Blame the NFL not the Rams.

I blame both.

I can't stand how the men in charge of my favorite team lied. The NFL also encouraged the STL efforts. The townhall meetings, the BoA, the presentations, etc etc.

Why go through all that trouble if they were gonna move anyway? Slimy. I hate the way it all went down.

 

[Merlin]

STL could have avoided all of it by living up to the contract they signed with the Rams that brought them to STL in the first place. They do that and there's no Inglewood purchase, no looking around for a stadium site, no need for a last minute desperation stadium project, and no need for a lawsuit.

IMO the lawsuit by the season ticket holders should be against the city of STL for not living up to their agreement.

 

[bluecoconuts]

Why go through all that trouble if they were gonna move anyway? Slimy. I hate the way it all went down.

So the rest of the league doesn't care. If the NFL went and trashed the city from the get go, that would make fans upset around the league. Instead they pretend like they care, point out flaws, and then say it couldn't get done. What happens? A few weeks later and the rest of the fan bases don't care at all. People kept insisting that fans would revolt against the NFL, but they didn't, they won't. The NFL knew what they were doing, not their first rodeo.

 

[LesBaker]

I'm coming from a neutral site, but wanted them to stay in STL for biased reasons (it's only like 6 hours away from me).

That said, I can't trust these guys again. Ever. Not Stan, not KD, no one. You can't come on the air and assure loyal STL fans that you expect the Rams to be right in St. Louis. He can't promise STL fans that the LA purchase was "normal business" and promise fans that no land purchase is for a stadium. The owner can't stay in his only address to STL he going to do everything he can to keep the Rams in St. Louis.



Now he goes on and says this has been planned 2013? C'mon that is as slimy as it gets. If they wanted to move to LA, fine. It was their right too based on the dome contract. I'd have more respect for them if they just kept their answers vague like "we'll do what is best for the team" or whatever instead of lying.

Yes. All this and then in the end they take the low road. Rather than thanking the fans of STL and the city they insulted them and threw them under the bus after faking negotiations.

At no point in their parting shot did they even say a kind word about the fans that made them plenty of money while the team played shitty football.

It was classless and I sent Demoff an email telling him that he should be ashamed of himself for doing it the way he did.

I was never overly excited about Kroenke as an owner, and thought his greenmail move was slimy. This exit from STL confirms what I've felt about him. I'm hopeful that in spite of him the Rams will win a SB someday but I'm not confident.

 

[LesBaker]

STL could have avoided all of it by living up to the contract they signed with the Rams that brought them to STL in the first place. They do that and there's no Inglewood purchase, no looking around for a stadium site, no need for a last minute desperation stadium project, and no need for a lawsuit.

IMO the lawsuit by the season ticket holders should be against the city of STL for not living up to their agreement.

Well according to what Demoff is saying they were making plans to move no matter what. Kroenke and Spanos met about the land in LA well over two years ago, and months before SK bought it............so the timeline is approaching three years.

In hindsight, despite what was said, they were leaving no matter what. They full on lied and deceived the city and the local fans in the STL area.

 

[den-the-coach]

Well according to what Demoff is saying they were making plans to move no matter what. Kroenke and Spanos met about the land in LA well over two years ago, and months before SK bought it............so the timeline is approaching three years.

In hindsight, despite what was said, they were leaving no matter what. They full on lied and deceived the city and the local fans in the STL area.

I disagree Les, the formal rejection from the CVC was on July 6, 2013. That's about the time they started looking at land and I'm sure they were under the impression that the CVC would reject the 700 million dollar upgrades the Rams requested, however, if the CVC went along with those upgrades thus making the Dome a top tier stadium, the Rams would have had no recourse but to stay! That's it!

Dome talks head to new stage after Rams' proposal is rejected

• By David Hunn dhunn@post-dispatch.com 314-340-8121
  
• Jul 6, 2013

ST. LOUIS • Regional leaders have officially closed the door on a $700 million upgrade to the Edward Jones Dome, ushering in a new stage of negotiations with the St. Louis Rams.

This week, officials charged with running the Dome formally rejected — as long expected — the Rams’ proposal to overhaul the football stadium.

Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, sent a letter to the Rams to say the agency is “not in a position” to pay for a $700 million renovation.

In a separate letter, Jim Shrewsbury, chairman of the Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority, said it would not be “prudent” to make the improvements recommended by arbitrators earlier this year.

“Basically, what we’re saying is we’re not going to be bound by that arbitration,” Shrewsbury said in an interview Friday. “It is not going to force us to upgrade the stadium.”

“We simply don’t have the money to do it.”

The end of arbitration, however, opens the door for a new round of negotiations.

Shrewsbury said Gov. Jay Nixon had asked to take the lead on this round — one nearly certain to include talk of a new stadium, rather than trying to upgrade the Dome. Area officials have already begun scouting for potential new sites.

Nixon’s office emailed a statement late Friday afternoon saying, “I look forward to hearing from the Rams about their long-term plans.”

The Sports Complex Authority owns the dome. The CVC operates it. Both bodies are run by representatives of the city, county and state, which combined to fund the Dome’s construction.The lease with the CVC binds the Rams to stay at the Dome for two more football seasons. But this week’s letters mean that, if nothing changes, the team could leave St. Louis after the 2014 season, or go on a year-to-year lease.

Kevin Demoff, the Rams’ chief operating officer, did not return messages seeking comment.

A clause in the Rams’ contract required the CVC to provide the team with a “first-tier” stadium — in the top eight of 32 National Football League teams — by 2005, and again by 2015.

In 2012, the two sides began trading proposals for the 2015 marker.

The CVC’s final plan featured a new glass addition, outdoor terraces and a four-sided center-hung scoreboard. It estimated the total cost at under $200 million and called for the Rams to kick in half.

The Rams proposed tearing down half the Dome, extending it across Broadway and building a large glass wall. The team also wanted to add a sliding roof, reconfigured seating, two end zone “party platforms” and new, larger entrances. CVC contractors estimated the plan would cost at least $700 million.

Both sides rejected opposing proposals. Arbitrators took up the case in January and ruled in February that the Rams’ proposal was the only way to make the building first-tier.

CVC leaders immediately said it was unlikely the state, St. Louis and St. Louis County would agree to such an expense. The three are still paying a combined $24 million a year toward the bonds taken out to build the Dome.

Shrewsbury, head of the sports complex authority, said Friday that he wasn’t sure if Nixon had started talks with Rams owner Stan Kroenke. But nobody else, Shrewsbury said, is doing anything.

“If anything’s going on, it’s between Stan Kroenke and the governor,” Shrewsbury said. “This thing is still fluid.”

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_483935ed-ddd2-57a4-8cb6-24a1bdf37d1b.html

 

[badnews]

.... Might seem callus ... .but that's how the world works.

No, that's how some people work.

I hate it when businesses do unethical things and people come to their defense with "it's just business" or "it's just the way the world works".

It's not true. It's the way SOME people work. And dirty is dirty and greed isn't good or an admirable trait.

 

[kurtfaulk]

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[den-the-coach]

Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission,

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Yes, Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe, president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.

 

[Psycho_X]

I'll never trust a thing SK, KD, or the NFL ever says again after this whole process that's for sure. But it doesn't really matter so not going to waste my energy bitching about it. They pulled the wool over our eyes for years and stabbed us local fans in the back. It's done, they're gone, and Stan got his billions. Unfortunately I'll still watch the NFL cause I love the game and I'll still watch the Rams cause I've been a fan my whole adult life. Pretty confident I'll never buy another jersey in my lifetime though. I know cheering for the horns is still supporting the crooked owner and his lackey in a miniscule way but it's about all they will get out of me for now on.

 

[kurtfaulk]

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i have no bone in this. but every time demoff talks this is gonna be my mental picture. sure the city of st louis dared the rams to leave and weren't forthcoming themsleves with their real motives but anyone who thinks demoff didn't take the rams fans in st louis for a ride isn't being honest with themselves. again, i'm not bitter. this is just the impression i have of him now.

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[den-the-coach]

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i have no bone in this. but every time demoff talks this is gonna be my mental picture. sure the city of st louis dared the rams to leave and weren't forthcoming themsleves with their real motives but anyone who thinks demoff didn't take the rams fans in st louis for a ride isn't being honest with themselves. again, i'm not bitter. this is just the impression i have of him now.

.

Okay and I never had a dog in this fight either, however, I disagree. I do believe they wanted Los Angeles, however, if the CVC went along with the upgrades per the article, the Rams would have never been able to leave and IMO, you never, ever give up sure thing for a possibility.

The CVC should be hung in effigy....They are the ones that could have kept the Rams in St. Louis and they blew it and now they come back that the dome needs those type of upgrades to attract more businesses? Sorry, that is where the deception has been for a numbers of years.