Stan Kroenke appreciation thread

[XXXIVwin]

A lot of unknown sources in this ESPN article...

Sources: Kroenke irks NFL owners with fees pivot

Rams owner Stan Kroenke has angered NFL owners with the possibility of him trying to back away from a promise to cover tens of millions of dollars in legal expenses related to his team's 2016 departure from St. Louis, sources told ESPN.

www.espn.com.au

Fascinating article. The whole relocation issue was complicated as hell. So many moving parts.

Agree that fans in LA got screwed over when the Rams left, and also that fans in St. Louis got screwed over when the Rams moved back.

Regarding the Rams breaking their Lease, IIRC the Rams had a decent case for that because the Lease signed in 1994 was a "sweetheart deal." The Lease required the Rams to be playing in a "top tier" stadium, or else the Rams had the right to eventually convert to a year-to-year Lease and (eventually) break it.

And as far as the "relocation guidelines" go, that one has to be murky as all hell. Clearly, the majority of owners felt that from a pure $ standpoint, LA had more revenue generating potential than St. Louis. That's undeniable. The question is, to what extent did the owners' "relocation guidelines" dictate that they "owed" the city of St. Louis a chance to produce a viable solution?

Bottom line, I wouldn't bet against Stan in any of this. The dude is smart and ruthless. IMHO, if he's saying "screw you" to the other owners about paying their legal bills, it means he already anticipated they'd be pissed off, but he felt his legal position was strong enough that he didn't care.

Billionaire Cat Fight!!!

 

[Merlin]

The STL lawsuit being built on an email that happens to originate from a Carson Project official is very interesting. Sort of convenient for Spanos too in a way, that an official that worked for him was behind it. Almost seems like it was intentional or something to stir shit up at that moment in time. I doubt they intended for this to happen but still.

Sounds like Kroenke is done putting up Spanos as a cheap tenant. He's probably trying to end that particular gravy train and I suspect when push comes to shove might get his way on that.

 

[BuffaloRam]

Relocate the Chargers and make Spanos sell - best of both worlds

 

[WillasDad]

Relocate the Chargers and make Spanos sell - best of both worlds

Send them to St. Louis. Make Spanos keep the team.

 

[badnews]

Send them to St. Louis. Make Spanos keep the team.

STL has been through enough

 

[RamDino]

Send the Cardinals back to St Louis and move the Chargers to Arizona.

 

[dieterbrock]

It was a windfall for the NFL having the Rams move to LA, build Sofi. A rising tide lifts all boats, and with the exponential increase in value for the Rams, it also helps the rest of the league.
Stan should hold out and let the greedy owners share in the costs because each of them has seen their own value increase because of it.

 

[RhodyRams]

It was a windfall for the NFL having the Rams move to LA, build Sofi. A rising tide lifts all boats, and with the exponential increase in value for the Rams, it also helps the rest of the league.
Stan should hold out and let the greedy owners share in the costs because each of them has seen their own value increase because of it.

You should be sitting at ESK's defense table

 

[WarnerToBruce]

You should be sitting at ESK's defense table

 

[Memento]

I must be one of the few St. Louisans who would stick with the Rams if another team moved to the Lou. I don't care for any other team; the Rams are who I grew up watching for almost two decades, and I can't just discard that for another team - especially not when I researched LA players like Deacon, Merlin, Youngblood, Crazy Legs, etc.

 

[RamsCardsJazz]

Send the Cardinals back to St Louis and move the Chargers to Arizona.

Yes, please, then I only have to travel thirty minutes (instead of hours) to see a Rams game yearly.

 

[RamsCardsJazz]

I must be one of the few St. Louisans who would stick with the Rams if another team moved to the Lou. I don't care for any other team; the Rams are who I grew up watching for almost two decades, and I can't just discard that for another team - especially not when I researched LA players like Deacon, Merlin, Youngblood, Crazy Legs, etc.

I am as well. I have been a Rams fan for 26 years. There is no way on earth I could just jump ship. I still do not like Kroenke though...ha

 

[WarnerToBruce]

I must be one of the few St. Louisans who would stick with the Rams if another team moved to the Lou. I don't care for any other team; the Rams are who I grew up watching for almost two decades, and I can't just discard that for another team - especially not when I researched LA players like Deacon, Merlin, Youngblood, Crazy Legs, etc.

Well I was in the same boat when Front-and-rearie moved them to Stl from LA. I had season tickets and was heartbroken but followed them as if they were still here. I even ran a betting website for more than a decade after, and had the Rams posted as LA Rams. I used to get folks telling me to "fix it", but I said it IS fixed. They didn't change their name to Anaheim Rams when they moved there, why would they change now. Just farther away!

They used to call me delusional, until they moved back. Last laugh!

So personally, I'm hoping the similarities in our story ends there. If they move back to StL anytime soon, I won't be following them this time

 

[Memento]

I am as well. I have been a Rams fan for 26 years. There is no way on earth I could just jump ship. I still do not like Kroenke though...ha

I respect Kroenke for three things: getting smart football people, spending to the cap for those smart football people, and knowing not to meddle with the smart football people like a couple of owners I could name (coughJerrycoughKhancoughSnydercough).

I don't particularly care for him as a person, but if I'm truly honest, whatever he is aside from being an owner doesn't matter when it comes to my love of the Rams. I fucking love this team with all my heart, all my mind, all my soul.

 

[SuperMan28]

I doubt STL is chomping at the bit to get another NFL team. They'd take their billion dollars and run if given the option. Not to mention The Ed is still an ugly venue in the eyes of the football world.

STL would have to build a new stadium. We've been there, no thanks. However, I did love the riverboat project Dave Peacock came up with. I was all in! That ship has sailed.

I'm loving my time as a Chief fan although we've had an epic 2002 Rams style meltdown. I still detest Tom Brady too. He's ruined 2 dynasties for me now. It hurts a lot. Like... a whole lot.

 

[Dxmissile]

Fascinating article. The whole relocation issue was complicated as hell. So many moving parts.

Agree that fans in LA got screwed over when the Rams left, and also that fans in St. Louis got screwed over when the Rams moved back.

Regarding the Rams breaking their Lease, IIRC the Rams had a decent case for that because the Lease signed in 1994 was a "sweetheart deal." The Lease required the Rams to be playing in a "top tier" stadium, or else the Rams had the right to eventually convert to a year-to-year Lease and (eventually) break it.

And as far as the "relocation guidelines" go, that one has to be murky as all hell. Clearly, the majority of owners felt that from a pure $ standpoint, LA had more revenue generating potential than St. Louis. That's undeniable. The question is, to what extent did the owners' "relocation guidelines" dictate that they "owed" the city of St. Louis a chance to produce a viable solution?

Bottom line, I wouldn't bet against Stan in any of this. The dude is smart and ruthless. IMHO, if he's saying "screw you" to the other owners about paying their legal bills, it means he already anticipated they'd be pissed off, but he felt his legal position was strong enough that he didn't care.

Billionaire Cat Fight!!!

He’s lost already. The fact is the owners would have never approved the move if he didn’t agree to cover ALL expenses. That sounds to me like they knew they were breaking their own rules and if Kroenke do not hold his end of the bargain things are gonna get really interesting.

 

[Dxmissile]

I doubt STL is chomping at the bit to get another NFL team. They'd take their billion dollars and run if given the option. Not to mention The Ed is still an ugly venue in the eyes of the football world.

STL would have to build a new stadium. We've been there, no thanks. However, I did love the riverboat project Dave Peacock came up with. I was all in! That ship has sailed.

I'm loving my time as a Chief fan although we've had an epic 2002 Rams style meltdown. I still detest Tom Brady too. He's ruined 2 dynasties for me now. It hurts a lot. Like... a whole lot.

I’m sure whatever settlement they come up with will include the nfl financing a new stadium for the city and still a couple hundred million if not a billion in cash. That’s a win win for kroenke the nfl and the city. And I for one can’t wait to have football back in StL. The rams will always be my first team though but the riverfront stadium was nice.

 

[XXXIVwin]

I’m sure whatever settlement they come up with will include the nfl financing a new stadium for the city and still a couple hundred million if not a billion in cash. That’s a win win for kroenke the nfl and the city. And I for one can’t wait to have football back in StL. The rams will always be my first team though but the riverfront stadium was nice.

Here's hoping St Louis gets an XFL team. I've got nothing against St Louis, but I gotta think that the NFL would be reluctant to go back there. St Louis population has been dropping for a while now, at 294k now as compared to over 340k 30 years ago. St Louis is the 69th most populous city in the USA.

 

[SuperMan28]

I’m sure whatever settlement they come up with will include the nfl financing a new stadium for the city and still a couple hundred million if not a billion in cash. That’s a win win for kroenke the nfl and the city. And I for one can’t wait to have football back in StL. The rams will always be my first team though but the riverfront stadium was nice.

I'd love to see football back in STL. I'm just not expecting it. STL deserves massive compensation for how dirty a Stan and the NFL operated. Thing is I can't imagine STL jumping back in bed with the NFL after what happened with two dirty owners, Bidwell and Stan. If the team could be publically owned like the Packers then that would change my mind.

 

[SuperMan28]

I’m sure whatever settlement they come up with will include the nfl financing a new stadium for the city and still a couple hundred million if not a billion in cash. That’s a win win for kroenke the nfl and the city. And I for one can’t wait to have football back in StL. The rams will always be my first team though but the riverfront stadium was nice.

I'd love to see football back in STL. I'm just not expecting it. STL deserves massive compensation for how dirty a Stan and the NFL operated. Thing is I can't imagine STL jumping back in bed with the NFL after what happened with two dirty owners, Bidwell and Stan. If the team could be publically owned like the Packers then that would change my mind.