New: Latest on Kroenke, Rams and NFL in STL

[PowayRamFan]

Totally agree. Grew up going to games at Kezar Stadium, Candlestick Park, and the Oakland Coliseum. Wind, rain, fog...it didn't matter. Watching games in a dome is just not the same.

Outdoor stadium would certainly fit our current identity much more than the dome does.

 

[den-the-coach]

Totally agree. Grew up going to games at Kezar Stadium, Candlestick Park, and the Oakland Coliseum. Wind, rain, fog...it didn't matter. Watching games in a dome is just not the same.

Absolutely. I've wanted an outdoor stadium since the beginning and it's well worth Stan Kroenke putting St. Louis Rams fans through football-fan hell if that's what we end up with at the end of the day.

Sorry Gentlemen disagree and maybe because I'm getting older, but I would embrace a retractable roof in a heartbeat. It's the best of both worlds and although I might concur that football should be played outside the fact of watching football in below freezing temperatures while being under the influence or not really does not appeal to me at the age of 48.

 

[PreshusRoy]

• Somebody likes it

 

[Username]

Totally agree. Grew up going to games at Kezar Stadium, Candlestick Park, and the Oakland Coliseum. Wind, rain, fog...it didn't matter. Watching games in a dome is just not the same.

Absolutely. I've wanted an outdoor stadium since the beginning and it's well worth Stan Kroenke putting St. Louis Rams fans through football-fan hell if that's what we end up with at the end of the day.

Same. To be honest, I'm so excited their design is open air that I really don't give a shit what it looks like. Being next to the river is just amazing too. If this got built, and the Rams stay, it would be a dream come true for me. I would be going to a shit load of MLS games too if that came through. I've played on grass and astro turf (the new shit) and the difference is astounding. Football is made to be played outdoors on real grass, it just is. It was fun to watch the GSOT have track meets, but those days are over.

I've been to plenty of Cardinals post season games freezing my ass off, and had the time of my life. The (NFL) Cardinals also played in Busch I. Not to mention I also tailgate in any and all of it pre-game anyway. The outdoor stadium will be just fine for this city. If I were to be brutally honest, I think it might help our crowd a little bit. It's actually been awesome in my section lately, but considering I'm not renewing, I'm kinda curious to see what type of people I run into next year lol. Cause while the NFL and Kronke can still suck my left nut, I'll still be cheering my ass off for my STL Rams while they're still here.

 

[den-the-coach]

I've been to plenty of Cardinals post season games freezing my ass off, and had the time of my life.

Freezing is different in October vs. January!

 

[Username]

Freezing is different in October vs. January!

Freeseing?


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZVCrKcOl78

 

[ZigZagRam]

Here's a better wrap-up of today's news and more info on the consultants.

It really sounds like this thing is gaining serious traction.

New photos of St. Louis’ NFL stadium released, task force adds consultants
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2015/03/new-photos-of-st-louis-nfl-stadium-released-task.html?s=print

The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority has hired five new consultants to help develop the planned NFL stadium along St. Louis' north riverfront.

Those consultants include Barrett Sports Group, located in Manhattan Beach, California; Columbia Capital Management, from Overland Park, Kansas; St. Louis-based Downtown Now Inc.; SMG, based out of Philadelphia, and St. Louis-based FleishmanHillard. (For more on each consultant scroll to the end of this article.)

The consultants join facility construction consultant John Lloyd, who was announced as the project's first consultant in February.

Requests for proposals for the development of the stadium also are expected to be released this week.

Local and state officials are pushing a plan for a new 64,000-seat open-air stadium that would cost between $900 million and $1 billion. Half that money would come from public sources, with the other half coming from the NFL and an NFL team owner.

Separately, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has plans to build a $2 billion NFL stadium in Inglewood, California. Those plans have been approved by local officials, and construction can now begin at Kroenke's go-ahead, although the NFL hasn't yet approved the move of any team to the Los Angeles area.

A task force led by former Anheuser-Busch President Dave Peacock is working to keep the Rams in St. Louis with the construction of the new stadium.

"Across the board, we've assembled a team of best-in-class consultants who understand our opportunity and vision, and who've been there and done this before," Peacock said. "Bringing these experts together is further evidence of our sincerity to keep the Rams in St. Louis and the progress we've made in those efforts in just the past several weeks."

Here's more on the newly hired consultants:

• Barrett Sports Group (BSG) is a sports management consulting firm that will provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of NFL stadium deal structures and leases, and will assist in developing cash flow models for the new stadium and the team. Taking the lead will be Dan Barrett, founder and principal of the group, who has worked on numerous NFL stadium projects for the public sector and teams, including New Atlanta Falcons Stadium, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Invesco Field at Mile in Denver and Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

• Columbia Capital Management is a municipal adviser that will provide guidance on funding strategies to develop the financing plan for a new stadium.

• Downtown Now is the development entity aligned with Downtown STL Inc., a community based organization devoted to increasing investment in downtown St. Louis through public/private partnership. The lead will be Doug Woodruff, president of both organizations, who has extensive real estate development experience and has been involved wiht the stadium project from the beginning, officials said. He'll be responsible for land assemblage on behalf of the RSA.

• The St. Louis headquarters office of international communications firm FleishmanHillard will provide communications support, content and strategy to the task force. St. Louisan Jim Woodcock, co-lead of the firm's global sports practice, will take the lead. Woodcock has extensive marketing and communications experience with NFL league executives and ownership, as well as on stadium projects in the NFL and other sports.

• SMG, a private facility management company, will provide pre-development consulting services, including developing economic modeling and forecasting for the new stadium project and reviewing the project's conceptual and schematic design. The lead will be SMG Executive Vice President Doug Thornton, who is based at the Mercedes-BenzSuperdome in New Orleans where he led the $225 million rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. He oversees SMG's Stadium and Arena properties and has been a leader in producing Super Bowls, Men's and Women's NCAA Final Fours, BCS Championship football games and many other major events.

 

[den-the-coach]

Freeseing?

Nice..Although I bleed Dodger blue and have been bleeding profusely since 1988.

 

[blue4]

Freezing is different in October vs. January!

If we ever play in January again, I will gladly be cold.

 

[den-the-coach]

If we ever play in January again, I will gladly be cold.

Now that is the post of the year!

 

[BuiltRamTough]

Here's a better wrap-up of today's news and more info on the consultants.

It really sounds like this thing is gaining serious traction.

New photos of St. Louis’ NFL stadium released, task force adds consultants
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/blog/2015/03/new-photos-of-st-louis-nfl-stadium-released-task.html?s=print

The St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Complex Authority has hired five new consultants to help develop the planned NFL stadium along St. Louis' north riverfront.

Those consultants include Barrett Sports Group, located in Manhattan Beach, California; Columbia Capital Management, from Overland Park, Kansas; St. Louis-based Downtown Now Inc.; SMG, based out of Philadelphia, and St. Louis-based FleishmanHillard. (For more on each consultant scroll to the end of this article.)

The consultants join facility construction consultant John Lloyd, who was announced as the project's first consultant in February.

Requests for proposals for the development of the stadium also are expected to be released this week.

Local and state officials are pushing a plan for a new 64,000-seat open-air stadium that would cost between $900 million and $1 billion. Half that money would come from public sources, with the other half coming from the NFL and an NFL team owner.

Separately, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has plans to build a $2 billion NFL stadium in Inglewood, California. Those plans have been approved by local officials, and construction can now begin at Kroenke's go-ahead, although the NFL hasn't yet approved the move of any team to the Los Angeles area.

A task force led by former Anheuser-Busch President Dave Peacock is working to keep the Rams in St. Louis with the construction of the new stadium.

"Across the board, we've assembled a team of best-in-class consultants who understand our opportunity and vision, and who've been there and done this before," Peacock said. "Bringing these experts together is further evidence of our sincerity to keep the Rams in St. Louis and the progress we've made in those efforts in just the past several weeks."

Here's more on the newly hired consultants:

• Barrett Sports Group (BSG) is a sports management consulting firm that will provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of NFL stadium deal structures and leases, and will assist in developing cash flow models for the new stadium and the team. Taking the lead will be Dan Barrett, founder and principal of the group, who has worked on numerous NFL stadium projects for the public sector and teams, including New Atlanta Falcons Stadium, CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Invesco Field at Mile in Denver and Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans.

• Columbia Capital Management is a municipal adviser that will provide guidance on funding strategies to develop the financing plan for a new stadium.

• Downtown Now is the development entity aligned with Downtown STL Inc., a community based organization devoted to increasing investment in downtown St. Louis through public/private partnership. The lead will be Doug Woodruff, president of both organizations, who has extensive real estate development experience and has been involved wiht the stadium project from the beginning, officials said. He'll be responsible for land assemblage on behalf of the RSA.

• The St. Louis headquarters office of international communications firm FleishmanHillard will provide communications support, content and strategy to the task force. St. Louisan Jim Woodcock, co-lead of the firm's global sports practice, will take the lead. Woodcock has extensive marketing and communications experience with NFL league executives and ownership, as well as on stadium projects in the NFL and other sports.

• SMG, a private facility management company, will provide pre-development consulting services, including developing economic modeling and forecasting for the new stadium project and reviewing the project's conceptual and schematic design. The lead will be SMG Executive Vice President Doug Thornton, who is based at the Mercedes-BenzSuperdome in New Orleans where he led the $225 million rebuilding effort after Hurricane Katrina. He oversees SMG's Stadium and Arena properties and has been a leader in producing Super Bowls, Men's and Women's NCAA Final Fours, BCS Championship football games and many other major events.

This whole stadium situation is going to give people in STL and LA heart attacks by the time it's over. I mean fuck seriously. Kevin Demoff is on Twitter and he is likeing pics of the riverfront stadium. Kevin is a puppet of Kroenkes. So does Kroenke like the stadium? wtf man lol

 

[ZigZagRam]

New St. Louis NFL Stadium Renderings Released
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon’s task force today released a new round of stadium and property renderings by HOK.

The new renderings reflect input received over the past seven weeks from the NFL and St. Louis Rams, as well as key stakeholders in the project including Ameren, the Terminal Railroad Association, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others.

The task force is developing plans for an open-air NFL stadium project on the North Riverfront of downtown St. Louis that could be the new home for the Rams, as well as related enhancements to the Edward Jones Dome and America’s Center convention facility.

http://www.hok.com/about/news/2015/03/02/new-st-louis-nfl-stadium-renderings-released/

 

[ZigZagRam]

Well, you can erase any doubt about Goldman Sachs' commitment to the Carson project.

Goldman to bankroll Chargers’ move

The Chargers and Raiders say they’ll build in Carson, Calif., if they do not reach deals in their current homes.

Goldman Sachs will finance the San Diego Chargers’ prospective move to Los Angeles, including covering any operating losses suffered by the team in the first few years in that city as well as costs for any renovations needed in a temporary venue, sources said last week.

The Chargers and Oakland Raiders announced last week they would build a $1.7 billion stadium in Carson, Calif., assuming they are unable to reach deals for new venues in their respective cities. At the Carson announcement, Goldman Sachs’ Tim Romer spoke about the financial viability of the project and using the same financing structure deployed by the San Francisco 49ers to fund Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

http://m.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/03/02/Finance/Goldman-Chargers.aspx

 

[den-the-coach]

Well, you can erase any doubt about Goldman Sachs' commitment to the Carson project.

Goldman to bankroll Chargers’ move

It's a race and we as fans just have to endure!

 

[BuiltRamTough]

L.A. Flips The Script On The NFL, Holds The Bargaining Power
In the typical drama between a city and an NFL team, the city kisses the NFL ring, makes gestures of submission, and opens their checkbook to entice the team to locate in their city. It looks like a strong possibility that either the St. Louis Rams or Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers will be playing in Los Angeles before too long. While the deals struck are beneficial to the teams, these deals reflect a stronger desire of the teams to be in the L.A. area than the L.A. area’s desire to have a team.

The nation’s second largest metro area with 18 million people has been without a local teams since the 1994 while cities like Jacksonville and New Orleans, with 1.5 million host teams. Since the Rams and Raiders departed, the NFL has granted new franchises to Cleveland (3.5 million) and Houston (6.3 million). The USC Trojans have become the de facto professional football team in L.A. How have the NFL and individual franchise owners been willing to leave money on the table? With apologies to fans in St. Louis, Oakland, and San Diego, the interesting economic question is why has it taken so long?

It’s a combination of NFL hubris along with the limitations of public relations and the NFL’s league-team arrangement. On hubris, the NFL as a league and its owners usually hold a strong bargaining position vis-a-vis cities desiring to attract or hold on to teams. Typically, they can extract and hold out for generous stadium inducements. With great weather, abundant beaches, and many other leisure and entertainment options, L.A. hasn’t played by the NFL’s script by offering a sweetheart deal. For much of the past twenty years, the NFL acted as if L.A. would come crawling to them, as have many other cities, but it didn’t happen.

Back to the Future for the L.A. Rams?

The NFL has also been constrained by its own concern with public relations regarding team movements and location. In a narrow financial sense, starting up a franchise in L.A. would seem to take precedence over Cleveland and Houston, but with both of those teams losing franchises to other places based on stadium deals, the NFL was willing to bypass L.A. in favor of these jilted cities. Ironically, those cities were willing to structure stadium deals that would have likely kept their original teams in place. Moving a team out of New Orleans and to L.A. represents an even bigger public relations hurdle than these in the post-Katrina world of the last decade.

The other limiting element is the NFL’s league-franchise arrangement. From a league perspective, it would make more sense for a team to move from 1.5 million Jacksonville to L.A. rather than from metro areas of around 3 million like St. Louis or San Diego. However, the NFL is not a “single entity” like NASCAR. Owners of teams call the shots on location, at least within certain bounds of league approval. Some owners are more committed to staying put than others, so the league doesn’t really get to tab a franchise to move.

While any move of an existing team will stir passions of fans and media in impacted cities, from a purely analytical perspective, the Rams move makes a lot of sense. By re-purposing the land on which an existing, large sports venue sits, it doesn’t have to carve out an existing area from a congested metro location and all of the political issues raised by those problems. (A report about the location being at increased risk of terrorism seems a real stretch.) They have a long history in the area. While the Rams didn’t start as a franchise in L.A., they resided in the metro area from 1946 to 1994. They already play in the NFC West so there isn’t a geographic misfit.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

It's a race and we as fans just have to endure!

This year is going to be crazy. This is just getting started.

 

[ZigZagRam]

This year is going to be crazy. This is just getting started.

Would you mind posting links to the stories you're posting?

 

[Prime Time]

This year is going to be crazy. This is just getting started.

And we'll get to enjoy it all together here at good, old ROD. :banana: :rockon: :banana:

Would you mind posting links to the stories you're posting?

Good point. Links keep us safe from getting in trouble with the sites we are copy/pasting from.

 

[Dagonet]

Freezing is different in October vs. January!

I got to agree with Den here although I like the plan for an outdoor stadium. If any of you work outside this time of year, you'll know what I mean.. Not working outside this year, but I have the past 6 years and more earlier in my life.. I use to laugh at the young kids biatching how cold it is when the highs are in the 20's and low 30's.. I would always tell them just wait.. This will be balmy come February and you'll be wishing for it. It's amazing what even a 10 degrees difference does for the temperature.

 

[BuiltRamTough]

And we'll get to enjoy it all together here at good, old ROD. :banana: :rockon: :banana:



Good point. Links keep us safe from getting in trouble with the sites we are copy/pasting from.

Ok got it!

At least we know the Rams are going to play in a new shiny stadium in a couple of years. That alone is exciting no matter where you live.