04/19/24
February 06, 2014
St. Louis Rams Owner Buys Land in Los Angeles: St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke has purchased 60 acres of parking lot in Los Angeles between the Hollywood Park Racetrack and the Forum, reviving chatter about the NFL returning to town. Hey, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, isn't he just doing this to extort more money from the taxpayers of St. Louis? "Yes, he wants the city and state to make a more competitive offer to keep the Rams. The sides are now $600 million apart on their bid and ask. But Kroenke isn't bluffing, either. He loves LA, and a stadium in that area was already approved for Davis before he moved the Raiders in 1994. This is no joke."
Note that Hollywood Park closed last year and it's land has been/will be sold, so there's a lot of potential for something huge to go into that spot.
posted by LionIndex at 05:48 PM on February 06, 2014
If St. Louis moved to Los Angeles, Jaguars fans could stop worrying about moving there and start worrying about moving to St. Louis. That's where Shad Khan wanted to be an NFL owner.
Supposedly, the Jags can't move without paying almost $100 million to get out of the lease, unless they open the books and show the team lost money two years in a row. Khan is putting $31 million into putting billboards larger than the one in Dallas in the end zones at Everbank Field, so that's another reason to hope the team stays.
posted by rcade at 06:45 PM on February 06, 2014
I can't even describe how tired I've become over the years with talk of shoving a team, or teams back in Los Angeles. Give the city another chance for an epic failure. Cater to the elite crowd with prime boxes and seating, while ignoring the common folks who are the life-blood of any franchise.
Sounds just like the current Yankee Stadium.
posted by dyams at 07:16 PM on February 06, 2014
Here's hoping St. Louis collectively says "Fuck that guy - let him move to L.A."
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:57 PM on February 06, 2014
I'll be surprised if the NFL lets a team go to LA.
The league is TV-driven (financially), so it's not like they care about gate receipts. Fans in that market (1st or 2nd biggest TV market in America) are going to watch football whether there is a team there or not.
Throw in the fact that "Give me more money, or I'll move to LA!" is the primary bargaining tool for the franchises, and I can see why the NFL and its owners would like to keep that market open for a lot longer.
posted by grum@work at 07:58 PM on February 06, 2014
Basically Kroenke is this guy.
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:59 PM on February 06, 2014
... I can see why the NFL and its owners would like to keep that market open for a lot longer.
For the love of Goodell, why? How can it possibly make financial sense to keep a team out of the second-largest TV market in the country for 20 years, no matter how much is gained elsewhere? The luxury box rates on an LA team would be staggering, given the concentration of wealth there.
Khan bought the Jags for $760 million. If he moved them to LA they'd be worth $1.5 billion overnight.
posted by rcade at 08:16 PM on February 06, 2014
How can it possibly make financial sense to keep a team out of the second-largest TV market in the country for 20 years, no matter how much is gained elsewhere?
How many billions have cities smaller than Los Angeles spent on sweetheart deals because every owner would totally rather be in Los Angeles, a city that's already lost more NFL/AFL franchises than any other city has ever had? For instance:
Khan is putting $31 million into putting billboards larger than the one in Dallas in the end zones at Everbank Field, so that's another reason to hope the team stays.
Khan is paying $20 million for those billboards; the city is putting up more than twice that and expressly turned down a proposal requiring the Jaguars to reimburse the city for this upgrade if they move.
posted by Etrigan at 11:15 PM on February 06, 2014
Khan bought the Jags for $760 million. If he moved them to LA they'd be worth $1.5 billion overnight.
If he subsequently sold the team to Magic Johnson, they'd suddenly be worth 1.8 billion. At least to Magic.
posted by beaverboard at 12:38 AM on February 07, 2014
How many billions have cities smaller than Los Angeles spent on sweetheart deals because every owner would totally rather be in Los Angeles, a city that's already lost more NFL/AFL franchises than any other city has ever had?
Cities with no danger of moving to Los Angeles like Dallas also have forked over millions in taxpayer money to enrich their teams. I know the threat to move to LA has been worth a lot of money; I just dispute whether it's worth more than a team there.
How many cities had a realistic chance of moving? Jacksonville, St. Louis, Minnesota, San Diego and Oakland are the main ones. Of them, only Minnesota got a new stadium in recent years.
That kind of deal-or-we-move threat probably would've worked on those teams with another potential destination like Las Vegas.
posted by rcade at 06:57 AM on February 07, 2014
soccer franchise in Miami, and how he's not seeking any public money for the stadium
I imagine that was more driven by a fear of being murdered by a mob of citizens rather than a good heart.
posted by yerfatma at 09:10 AM on February 07, 2014
I am so fucking tired of sports owners holding cities hostage. The problem being a city who has the balls to say no is there's a city with a sleazy mayor somewhere ready to roll out the red carpet. It's negotiating with criminals who have your daughter tied up in a basement and a chopper on the roof.
posted by dfleming at 09:51 AM on February 07, 2014
Ugh, this song and dance again.
It was refreshing to hear on the news this morning about David Beckham's push for a soccer franchise in Miami, and how he's not seeking any public money for the stadium.