New: Latest on Kroenke, Rams and NFL in STL

[RamFan503]

I have no idea. Maybe they have to send something like this to LA ' S engineers to inspect.

That's what I'd suspect. And I don't think LA would be in near as much of a hurry as Inglewood.

 

[RamFan503]

Just moving the team to LA will double or triple the value of the team. That alone is enough. The team would be top 5 in value overnight. Right now they are 32

I don't think that is true. The team being in LA AND Stan owning the facility may do that but just moving them, I'm not so sure. When they moved to St Louis it apparently didn't drop the value of the team. If he built and owned the facility in St Louis, I wouldn't doubt that it would almost double their value.

 

[Dodgersrf]

That's what I'd suspect. And I don't think LA would be in near as much of a hurry as Inglewood.

Not related, but I thought it was interesting.
Planning departments and inspectors carry zero liability for a failed structure. If a structure collapsed under its own weight, the liability would lye completely on the builder.

 

[RamFan503]

Not related, but I thought it was interesting.
Planning departments and inspectors carry zero liability for a failed structure. If a structure collapsed under its own weight, the liability would lye completely on the builder.

And the engineer. They have to carry what amounts to malpractice insurance. Whatever engineer puts his stamp on the project is certifying it and becomes liable. But yeah - I'm sure we're glazing the eyes over on many a poster here. Nothing new for me. I do that a lot.

 

[bluecoconuts]

BTW - did anyone read the initiative summary? Stan is picking up the tab for all infrastructure improvements, job training programs, and a couple other boons to the local economy. He is making it extremely difficult to say no to.

I get the idea that LA is a much more lucrative market but I can't help but feel a little pissed that he couldn't just do something similar in St Louis and build a complete state of the art facility there. It might not increase his value as much as in LA but how could he not own the entire deal in St Louis like he is supposedly doing in LA? I can't imagine the Governor or city has said that they wouldn't let him own the facility the Rams played in if he agreed to build it on his dime.

Makes you wonder just how much more lucrative the LA site is going to be for him if he builds it.

My guess is that prestige is a large part of it as well. While increased value is always nice, he has tons of money it doesn't matter. Leaving behind a legacy is probably more his goal, and being the guy who brought the NFL back to LA with what looks like the best stadium and surrounding areas in the history of the NFL, is going to bring about a far different legacy than the guy who built a new stadium in St Louis.

Right. Any idea if Inglewood even has a planning department advanced enough to handle this kind of a project?

A lot of it may already be done from the other project, since they've already started building and prepping there. If the goal is to have the stadium completed in 2018, you gotta think they already have some steps completed in terms of how it would all work. Maybe not submitted, but in house with teams who know what they're doing.

 

[RamFan503]

My guess is that prestige is a large part of it as well. While increased value is always nice, he has tons of money it doesn't matter. Leaving behind a legacy is probably more his goal, and being the guy who brought the NFL back to LA with what looks like the best stadium and surrounding areas in the history of the NFL, is going to bring about a far different legacy than the guy who built a new stadium in St Louis.



A lot of it may already be done from the other project, since they've already started building and prepping there. If the goal is to have the stadium completed in 2018, you gotta think they already have some steps completed in terms of how it would all work. Maybe not submitted, but in house with teams who know what they're doing.

Could be right on both counts.

 

[iced]

I thought the parking was a big issue as well, that's why I think they're looking to getting some more land to fix that issue. That's assuming the NFL isn't afraid for another "cold weather" Super Bowl.

i don't think parking is an issue with the new stadium - then again honestly i've never read about it or heard about it...

one thing i would like to point out is that the Rams have hired one of the guys that designed the new Falcons stadium...and their pics pre-project vs now are vastly different..I think their stadium looks friggen awesome, and I have some hope that since that same guy who did that stadium is doing St.Louis's....well, i think some good things could be coming

http://www.psam.uk.com/category/venue-development-usa/page/18

Pre-concept:

Tour:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPKP7FaiqEE

 

[RamFan503]

i don't think parking is an issue with the new stadium - then again honestly i've never read about it or heard about it...

one thing i would like to point out is that the Rams have hired one of the guys that designed the new Falcons stadium...and their pics pre-project vs now are vastly different..I think their stadium looks friggen awesome, and I have some hope that since that same guy who did that stadium is doing St.Louis's....well, i think some good things could be coming

http://www.psam.uk.com/category/venue-development-usa/page/18

Pre-concept:

Tour:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPKP7FaiqEE

Awesome. That is more what I'm talking about. So that first mock up is actually how it was originally presented? If the St Louis proposal changes that much it would be a pretty damn exciting stadium to get behind. I would think that would be a slam dunk for the voters.

 

[y2joey]

My question, how many of you living in Missouri paying the taxes on the stadium would even want to do this?

 

[dbrooks25]

My question, how many of you living in Missouri paying the taxes on the stadium would even want to do this?

The money to pay for the new stadium would come from hotel taxes (as they are for the EJD), so it wouldn't even affect Missouri residents unless they rent hotels in the area frequently.

 

[RamBill]

Bernie: Stadium plan advancing
• By Bernie Miklasz

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_30a59937-1371-54d9-bf48-7f4fc651c0db.html

NFL executive vice president Eric Grubman was in town again Tuesday, meeting with St. Louis stadium task force leaders Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, and Rams chief operating officer Kevin Demoff.

You’ll have to excuse me for being positive, but I think this is a good sign. Or to put it this way: It surely isn’t a bad sign. It’s interesting that Demoff continues to be a regular participant in these sessions with Peacock-Blitz and Grubman.

Demoff works for Rams owner Stan Kroenke, so it makes sense for him to be there. It also makes sense for Peacock-Blitz and Grubman to keep the Rams in the loop and contributing to the discussions on the stadium design.

A new stadium, at least in theory, could serve as the Rams’ new home.

And that’s true even if Kroenke ends up building a new stadium near Los Angeles.

Don’t presume, with certainty, that the Rams would be the franchise that ends up playing home games in Inglewood.

(We’ll columnize on that subject later in the week.)

For now, let’s put the focus on the here and now: Peacock and Blitz are making progress on their stadium quest. But they aren’t working in isolation. They’re doing it with the NFL’s guidance and the Rams’ feedback.

“The NFL has significant interest,” Peacock said. “We have very regular dialogue with the NFL. And we’ve been getting good input and ideas from the team as well.”

When Grubman last visited town, in January, he stressed the league’s desire to see signs of action on the stadium front. The process is methodical by nature, but Peacock and Blitz continue to check the necessary boxes, one at a time.

They hired a stadium consultant in John Loyd. They reached tentative agreements with Ameren and the Terminal Railroad Association to clear space on the potential stadium site. Ameren will move some existing power lines, and the railroad will relocate some tracks.

The task force can’t buy the land for the stadium and prepare the site with other properties in the way. So the deals with Ameren and the railroad are necessary and important steps. Additional announcements are forthcoming.

To use a football term, Peacock and Blitz continue to move the chains. Viewed individually, these incremental moves aren’t dramatic and don’t elicit bellowing from the “hot take” screamers, their lemmings, or the Web-based pundits in search of click bait.

But for Peacock and Blitz, this is how it must be done: one step at a time.

Don’t confuse the lack of drama for a lack of progress.

“There’s a lot of aspects to a project this big, and there’s a lot of monotony to it,” Peacock said. “It’s not necessarily exciting stuff, but there are stages to go through. There are things we’ve accomplished that may not be viewed as critical items, but we’re moving past those. And we don’t want to issue a news release every time something happens.”

Actually, Peacock and Blitz have moved this along more quickly than I’d anticipated.

“We have shifted from proposal to taking action,” Peacock said. “And the NFL is actively participating in contributing to our ability to accomplish what we need to accomplish by the end of the year.

“And there are obviously forces outside of the region as to why we need to accomplish that — most notably the Los Angeles situation. But also there are reasons in St. Louis from a timing standpoint that it makes a lot of sense as well. I think this positions us in a good place.”

The NFL seems to be taking their work seriously. Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber will be in town — perhaps as soon as early next month — to review the stadium plans and to assess St. Louis as a market for a potential MLS expansion team.

“The stadium would be an asset for St. Louis,” Peacock said. “Although we’ve had NFL football here for more than 45 years, this would be the first true football stadium in St. Louis. The football Cardinals shared a stadium with the baseball team, which isn’t optimal. The Rams have been playing in a venue that’s attached to a convention center.

“For the football fan, this is the first real stadium we’re going to have. It affords us the opportunity to really ratchet up the football-fan experience. At the same time, by building this stadium and doing it the right way, other things (soccer) can go into that stadium, and we also free up the convention center to become more of an economic engine for downtown. Connecting all of those things is really what makes this project so exciting.”

Peacock remains unflappable. I keep waiting for him to freak out over something — be it developments and reports out of Los Angeles, instances of the usual NFL double talk, or the assumption that a Kroenke-Rams move is inevitable.

“What’s happening in Los Angeles isn’t surprising,” Peacock said. “The NFL is studying three or four sites for a football stadium, and Stan Kroenke is going to do what he can to make sure his project is in the lead.

“But I’ve been paying less and less attention to Los Angeles. Because to me this is about the St. Louis future versus the St. Louis current and the St. Louis past. That’s my focus.

“This project is moving forward for a reason. It’s just not about a stadium. It’s about downtown, the development of the riverfront, our economy, who we are, and what we can be. Everything. And I feel good about where we’re heading.”

Perhaps the eerily upbeat Peacock is just really good at marketing, crafting a message, staying on point and making deals — his specialities during many years as a successful Anheuser-Busch executive.

Or maybe he’s being told things, positive things, that give him peace of mind. But at a time when many football fans and most electronic media in St. Louis overreact and freak out at every little blip of Rams-LA noise — real or imagined — Peacock stays calm.

Peacock’s confidence is at once reassuring and unsettling.

Where does it come from?

What does he know, exactly?

I think Peacock knows a lot more than he can share publicly. I can’t predict how this story will end, but it would be a mistake to underestimate Peacock.

 

[Dxmissile]

St. Louis would have a difficult time hosting a superbowl. Not enough hotel space. It's limited us on other events too. That's been the excuse at least.

No, St. Louis has more than enough hotel space. If Indianapolis can host a super bowl which normally gets colder than St. LOUIS than why not st. Louis.

 

[RamBill]

Are things trending positively for STL on the stadium front? Bernie Miklasz joins Randy Karraker and D’Marco Farr on 101ESPN’s The Fast Lane.

Listen to Bernie Talk STL Stadium

 

[ChrisW]

The money to pay for the new stadium would come from hotel taxes (as they are for the EJD), so it wouldn't even affect Missouri residents unless they rent hotels in the area frequently.

Rental cars too. I have seen people complain that the taxes aren't being used for things like education or roads. But it's not like we are taking money away from those things. They are just extending the bonds on the current dome. So nothing would be coming out of any other taxes.

 

[Boffo97]

The money to pay for the new stadium would come from hotel taxes (as they are for the EJD), so it wouldn't even affect Missouri residents unless they rent hotels in the area frequently.

Rental cars too. I have seen people complain that the taxes aren't being used for things like education or roads. But it's not like we are taking money away from those things. They are just extending the bonds on the current dome. So nothing would be coming out of any other taxes.

Huh. I was not aware of this.

That's why I like this thread. When we can discuss this issue without it becoming city vs. city nonsense, people can actually learn things.

 

[ChrisW]

Huh. I was not aware of this.

That's why I like this thread. When we can discuss this issue without it becoming city vs. city nonsense, people can actually learn things.

That's why he said no new taxes. They would basically just extend the life of the bonds and push back the payoff date.

 

[Boffo97]

That's why he said no new taxes. They would basically just extend the life of the bonds and push back the payoff date.

Still... it sounds like Nixon is going to have quite the issue on his hands should he try to unilaterally extend the bonds.

 

[ChrisW]

Still... it sounds like Nixon is going to have quite the issue on his hands should he try to unilaterally extend the bonds.

We'll see what they come up with at the group they put together for the economic impacts on NFL teams in the state. If it comes out favorably, then I don't think they will have a problem passing it in general assembly.

We don't even know if he has to take a vote on it yet. Or at least I haven't heard definitely either way.

 

[beej]

Just moving the team to LA will double or triple the value of the team. That alone is enough. The team would be top 5 in value overnight. Right now they are 32

That is nothing more than speculation, although it's been repeated so often it's assumed to be true. But if it were true, simply because of the size of the city, the 2 new York teams would be 1 and 2.

winning records count for something.

 

[Boffo97]

That is nothing more than speculation, although it's been repeated so often it's assumed to be true. But if it were true, simply because of the size of the city, the 2 new York teams would be 1 and 2.

winning records count for something.

It's pretty informed speculation given how much the Clippers recently sold for, and they're pretty infamously not that good.

In any event, the value of the team would go up significantly and that's not just speculation. It's common sense.