Again, I'll have to defer to someone else, I know he was involved, but I haven't heard much about him being the driving force, especially for many years. If I recall he was trying to buy the Patriots sometime before that as well, and I don't think it was with the goal to move them to St Louis. I think he just wanted an NFL team, and he saw an opportunity to do so with the Rams. Had it been going the other way, with Georgia trying to get out of St Louis instead of in, I think he would have jumped at the chance still.
I have never said he was THE driving force. He was certainly an influential and enthusiastic participant. Yes, he wanted an NFL team. He also wanted one in STL. I doubt very much he would have participated in moving a team away from STL just to be an owner. There's no way of knowing.
Two teams get stripped of their cities and millions of fans are alienated either way. St Louis county has about a million residents, contrasted to San Diego county who has 3.2 million, and Alameda county (where Oakland is) has 1.5 million. Either way two cities and millions of fans will lose their home team. The argument that the Rams could make is they'll be coming back to LA county and the 10 million fans they left in the first place. In terms of making it work, again I do think the Rams work there, and I think they can work there long term.. However if market studies aren't good (and last we heard they weren't) and the Rams are the least valuable team in the NFL (which they are) then Kroenke has some numbers to back up that it's not working for them. Numbers don't lie.
You're not getting my point. Two teams move but there's a HUGE difference. The Rams will have a brand new stadium, the other teams won't. They aren't stripping the cities of those teams, those cities are driving the teams away. Saint Louis isn't.
St Louis metropolitan has almost 3 million people. San Diego metropolitan has slightly more.
I doubt very much there are that many Rams fans in LA just as there are few Cardinals fans here in Saint Louis. It's been 20 years. Of course, they may be enthusiastic anyways being they have no other team, but that would be true no matter who goes there.
His numbers will be "Saint Louis has been very profitable for the Rams even with only 4 winning seasons out of 20". That's not going to be a persuasive argument, IMHO. You can't make a massive mountain of money off a team with a terrible history and claim you NEED to move.
He's building a two team facility, and recent word is that he told the NFL he'll let them pick the second team to join him in LA and he would assist the team left out. That just came out a week or so ago (the helping the third team out thing) bringing a second team into LA to join has been there from the start. Kroenke is not spending two billion dollars in LA for two different teams, not getting to enjoy that stadium, and then turning around and spending over half a billion for himself in St Louis, that's completely ridiculous.
I'm not rolling with "recent word" or "rumor has it" or "I've read somewhere". There is way too much of that in this thread. If he has made the offer, I'm not saying he hasn't, but that's not being reported as a fact that I've seen. I did find an article that called it a rumor and pointed out an owner team and a renting team is a horrible idea for the renter who will always feel like an outsider.
I don't find any reference anywhere that Kroenke is offering for a second team to come. A few pieces of paper with an extra lockerroom drawn on them means nothing to me because I am pretty sure it's all a bluff.
Kroenke will do what makes Kronke the most money if he isn't moving or is stopped. His retail complex would have a huge advantage with 16 home games and concerts and such. Thinking he wouldn't isn't based on anything factual. Would he have two teams paying him and drawing huge crowds to his retail property and a stadium in STL? And still control concessions and other profit centers? Sure. Why not?
If the new stadium is defenetly being built as you claim, then why does he need to continue to make sure? Is St Louis going to pull the plug as soon as he can't go to LA anymore? Kroenke likes to own and operate his stadium and "own everything including the dirt", and he doesn't get that with the Riverfront stadium, and can't get that with the Riverfront stadium. That's probably a pretty big sticking point for him, and it's a lot of lost potential revenue.
I'm not claiming that the stadium is definitely being built, the Governor and Mayor are. "Whether the Rams stay or not" is what they said. Why continue to make sure? Because Saint Louis COULD pull out or if it just fell through, he needs a plan B.
I don't care what Kroenke likes. Kroenke has to live in a league he doesn't own. You keep claiming lost revenue with a deal that hasn't even been discussed yet. It's an assumption.
Actually most of those claims have came from St Louis fans who use it to support that they're not negotiating in good faith with the city. However it originates from an article discussing the stadium situations.
Regardless of the source, it's rumor and not fact. Let's stick with facts.
Kroenke made that statement when he first took over the team. Since the process has started (back during arbitration) he hasn't made a whimper about wanting to stay. Back when I was 10 years old I said I wanted to be a fighter pilot. Many years, and no attempts to become a fighter pilot later, I think most people would say that the situation has changed.
Of course he wants a better stadium for his team, he'd get one in Inglewood, arguably the best stadium in the history of the NFL to this point.
In terms of the NFL favoring the home city, I'll point out, they're in favor of not one, but two teams in LA, meaning they favor LA over at least "two" home cities... I don't think they favor any home cities, I think they favor money.
The Rams are also participating in designing and supporting Inglewood... And they're paying for it, which they aren't in St Louis.
NFL also encourages LA.
He also has every box checked other than the permits (which take a while and are in the process of getting, which no other potentials stadium has done), and the land is ready for the stadium, including old structures blown up.
Kroenke hasn't stated he'd do as the NFL wishes, those close to him have only indicated that they believe he would allow the NFL to vote on the matter. They didn't say he would honor the vote or anything like that. That was when some suggested he'd just up and move without even bringing it to a vote.
Kroenke does need a new home, the Dome is horribly outdated. The argument is does he need a new city? I'd say the Chargers need a new home but not a new city either. Raiders need a new home, but it's debatable if they need a new city (since Davis says he would love to stay if he had the money).
Kroenke has never said anything about leaving Saint Louis and has always been a proponent of the NFL here and the Rams being here. Let me know when that changes.
I will edit my remark then: The NFL always favors the home city that supports their team. San Diego and Oakland aren't. Saint Louis is.
Kroenke has indeed said he would go along with the NFL. When I find it, yet again, I will post it, yet again.
The Dome is outdated. That's why he wanted to improve it and stay. Amazing for a guy that has to own the dirt, don't you think? Now he gets a new stadium. Good move Kroenke!
