By divulging plans to team with an investment firm to build an 80,000-seat football stadium at the old Hollywood Park location near Los Angeles, Rams owner Stan Kroenke has at least one foot out the door as he plots his attempt to get away from St. Louis.
From a business and strategy standpoint, this was a bold move by Kroenke. Oh, turning the Rams into a hopelessly emaciated lame-duck franchise for 2015 isn’t Kroenke’s concern. His bull-rush move for the California gold is horrible for ticket sales and sponsorships in St. Louis.
But isn’t that the point? Kroenke can continue to choke off fan interest in St. Louis, do everything possible to enrage the fan base — and then use the declining support as part of the case for moving the team.
Kroenke’s decision to jump the line and get ahead of the Raiders and the Chargers to plant a flag in Los Angeles for a potential 2016 move is all about Kroenke, all about LA, all about staking a claim in a lucrative market.
People are also reading…
In theory this puts more pressure on St. Louis to come up with a viable stadium plan — but that also assumes that Kroenke is interested in staying here. And he isn’t. At least Kroenke has once and for all declared his true intentions.
The signs have been there all along. Kroenke has refused to enter into any type of stadium negotiations here. He won’t take a meeting with Gov. Jay Nixon, or the St. Louis stadium task force leaders Dave Peacock and Bob Blitz. But he’s obviously made time to have multiple meetings with parties in LA. Kroenke remains elusive in St. Louis for a reason: He mentally checked out of St. Louis and has turned his attention to working on the deal in Los Angeles.
I wonder: How does that go over at the NFL headquarters? The NFL has rules on relocation. As a refresher, here are some key excerpts:
“Because League policy favors stable team-community relations, clubs are obligated to work diligently and in good faith to obtain and to maintain suitable stadium facilities in their home territories, and to operate in a manner that maximizes fan support in their current home community…â€
And this: “No club has an ‘entitlement’ to relocate simply because it perceives an opportunity for enhanced club revenues in another location. Indeed, League traditions disfavor relocations if a club has been well-supported and financially successful and is expected to remain so.â€
Kroenke hasn’t come close to fulfilling those obligations. And having a chance to make more money in another market doesn’t justify moving a franchise.
As for the matter of support in St. Louis …
Despite being subjected to mostly hideous football through the years – only 16 winning records in 48 NFL seasons – St. Louis fans still filled the Edward Jones Dome to 88 percent capacity in 2014 as the Rams lurched to their 11th consecutive non-winning season.
And if Peacock, Blitz and Nixon come up with a viable plan for a new stadium — one that would satisfy league standards, greatly enhance the Rams’ revenue and presumably engender NFL support — then how could the league possibly green-light a Kroenke move to Los Angeles?
Well, there are two intertwined reasons:
1. The NFL relocation rules are worth less than the printer paper that spits them out, and the league will brazenly discard its own bylaws to accommodate Kroenke. The league already has granted Kroenke one significant favor by allowing him to continue to violate the NFL rules preventing cross ownership. Kroenke has had four years to divest his ownership of the NBA Denver Nuggets and NHL Colorado Avalanche, but he’s yet to comply with league rules.
2. The NFL could decide that Kroenke represents its best opportunity to set up shop in Los Angeles. He checks off several important boxes. He has the money and the willingness to build his own stadium there. He has the real estate to house the project. He has an NFL team to anchor the Los Angeles stadium complex. The situation in Los Angeles has been a mess for 20 years, leaving a trail of flimsy stadium plans and promises. Kroenke’s all-encompassing commitment provides a neat, tidy package that can solve the NFL’s longstanding LA problem.
Kroenke isn’t popular with the NFL or its owners, but he can deliver a Los Angeles solution. The NFL’s second-wealthiest owner is throwing down to go big into Los Angeles. With no other credible Los Angeles plans on the table, does the NFL have the stomach (and integrity) to cut Kroenke at the knees? Call me skeptical.
But it may not be so simple.
The NFL has been steadfast in its desire to control the Los Angeles market. The league has set up a process for going back into Los Angeles, and other owners have complied with the league’s wishes to proceed in an orderly fashion. Kroenke’s decision to go rogue could backfire on him.
According to multiple NFL sources, Kroenke’s decision to go public with his Los Angeles bid caught the NFL off guard. The league wasn’t happy with being ambushed by Monday’s big news.
The NFL already has cut Kroenke a break on cross ownership. Now the league has been put in position of having to surrender the lucrative Los Angeles market to Kroenke at a time when other teams (Raiders, Chargers) have more of a case for moving there.
How many times can one owner grab for the money and his additional self enrichment before the NFL takes a strong stand?
I don’t have the answer. I guess we’ll find out.
In the meantime, Peacock, Blitz and Nixon can’t afford to be rattled or distracted by Kroenke’s power play. In my conversations with NFL people Monday, one message resonated: Stay the course, St. Louis. Keep working on that stadium plan. Make sure that it’s real and viable and will result in a new stadium here.
Get the stadium going. It’s the best plan — the best protection — that St. Louis can produce. A new stadium would reduce support for Kroenke. A new stadium would turn the NFL into an ally. A commitment to a new stadium could keep the Rams here. But if the Rams should go, a new stadium could attract another NFL franchise.
From the beginning, Peacock’s strategy has been to make a direct appeal to the NFL. Peacock hasn’t been able to get Kroenke to the table, so Peacock has focused on bringing the NFL into the loop and keeping the league fully updated on the stadium initiative here.
Peacock has maintained steady contact with Commissioner Roger Goodell, NFL executive VP Eric Grubman and several NFL owners. And league sources insist that the NFL is encouraging Peacock to keep doing what he’s doing. Why? Even if the Rams defect, Peacock’s approach is geared to gaining the NFL’s support to put St. Louis in line to land another franchise.
A new stadium – especially one that benefits Kroenke – would set off a contentious debate locally. The plans for funding a new St. Louis stadium haven’t been divulged, let alone approved. And the plan could be shouted down, and get blown up.
We have some excruciating decisions to make here.
This region could decide to stand on principle by refusing to capitulate (again) to NFL greed.
Of course, that would mean losing the Rams and would probably foreclose on the possibility of acquiring another NFL franchise. And given all of the atrocious football and awful ownership that’s challenged the loyalty and patience of even the most devoted fans, who could blame our town for collectively rising up and declaring:
THAT’S ENOUGH.
NO MORE.
JUST LEAVE US ALONE.
Of course, that declaration of NFL independence comes with repercussions.
Namely: No more NFL. As in … ever.
We’re quickly approaching the crossroads.
Are we in or out? It’s just about time to make that decision.
