Goodbye, Rams

[alp227]

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

HOUSTON • National Football League owners on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to strip the Rams from St. Louis and send the team to owner Stan Kroenke's proposed $1.9 billion stadium in Los Angeles County, said two sources close to the negotiations.

The owners also agreed, after more than 10 hours of presentations and negotiations, to allow Dean Spanos to move his San Diego Chargers — but not to the site he proposed, one of the sources said. Instead, after multiple closed-door meetings, Spanos agreed to begin negotiating a deal to move the Chargers into Kroenke's stadium in Inglewood, southwest of downtown L.A.

The two will each pay a relocation fee, reported earlier at $550 million.

Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis is, for now, left out of moving plans. Spanos had worked with him for at least a year on a two-team stadium in Carson, Calif., just south of Kroenke's site.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/goodbye-rams/article_ae537abe-8471-5ac3-9edc-2c3174ce7fd9.html

[MatthewStLouis]

1. Good riddance!

[Jack Rabbit]

6. Many years ago, I attended a compter seminar in San Jose and had lunch with some people from St L

This was at the time Cardinals moved from St Louis to Phoenix abd the Rams moved from Los Angeles to St Louis. I told the other people at the table, "Well, if you liked Bidwell, you'll love Georgia Fontiere."

They laughed nervously.

[secondvariety]

2. Wonder

how much the public will be on the hook for. Probably $1.9 billion.

[davidpdx]

13. The guy who is moving the team is rich and he's married to one of the Walton children

It will hopefully be self-funded.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. I wouldn't bet on it. nt

[JRLeft]

20. Kroenke is self funding his stadium.

[awoke_in_2003]

33. That's a refreshing change. nt

[JRLeft]

35. Davis and Spanos wanted publicly funded stadiums.

[awoke_in_2003]

41. Most of them do

Socialize the risk, privatize the profit.

[JRLeft]

42. Both are cash poor from an NFL owner stand point.

Spanos 1.6 billion and Davis 500 million. As you can see they've suffered so much.

[awoke_in_2003]

43. I just wish someone would give me 10% of that

so I could prove or disprove the saying "money can't buy happiness"

[JRLeft]

44. +1

[pstokely]

3. another team for LA to ignore unless they're winners

they won't be any better than they were in STL for the past decade, where the do Raiders go (STL, San Antonio, London)?

[Lamonte]

23. Move to other country

Mexico is the most logical. Close to several teams. London is too far away. When Canadian football is gone Vancouver and Toronto would fit. Toronto and Detroit, Vancouver and Seattle make great rivalries.

[maxsolomon]

4. Sorry, St. Louis

The NFC West will be finally be geographically aligned is the best I can say.

St. Louis deserves a team - at least until concussions force the league to cease operation.

[dembotoz]

10. yes st louis deserves a team

[NutmegYankee]

15. We can form a new team for them - The Brownshirts

Because after the Ferguson protests, I consider that County the most fascist in America.

[Moostache]

5. Good riddance.

Enos Stanley Kroenke is a greedy, money grubbing liar and poor excuse for a human being. He is wealthy by marriage and exploitation and ruthless dealings with his business partners. The hatchet job he did in his trashing of the city of St. Louis was simply disgusting and I hope absolutely nothing but tragedy and loss on his franchise for the duration of his ownership.

I hereby transfer the "Billy Goat Curse" from the Chicago Cubs to one Mr. Enos Stanley Kroenke and his teams. They shall NEVER win a championship under his stewardship, which hopefully ends soon and his untimely demise in excruciating pain and suffering.

Other that, cool story bro...

[snoringvoter]

11. Add that curse to his progeny, Josh Kroenke

Who's busy destroying sports teams in Denver.

[Zorro]

7. The FAA will need to weigh in on the Inglewood location

It's right along the LAX flight path.

The Carson dump site might be the better location for a new stadium. More fitting, in any case.

[SoapBox]

16. Inglewood or Carson = Fucking Nightmare Teaffic!,,

Never...EVER...in all this bullshit about building these stadiums, has there been one fucking word about the traffic impact on the 405, 110 or 105.

I live near San Pedro and use the 110 and 405 to get to work...as it stands, traffic on the South Bay curve area is already at a standstill.

Horrible, horrible, horrible how this will impact us little people that don't give a crap about football but just need to go to work and get home.

A total fail on all parties for no concern about this issue.

[GummyBearz]

28. haha... I used to have a similar commute

I moved to san diego about 6 months ago. Now the chargers leave... a little ironic, but glad I wont sit in that mess on my commute. Surface streets are probably faster

[jeff47]

32. There's a problem with this claim...

It's LA. Everywhere is fucking nightmare traffic.

Sarcasm aside, if you work "normal" business hours you should not be affected much. The games would be on evenings and weekends.

[taught_me_patience]

34. Games are sunday at 1:00

Not much traffic at that time anyway. The Inglewood site is nice... you can take the green line right to it.

[maxsolomon]

37. well, not ALL games

MNF & ThNF start at 5:30 PST. In Seattle, it generally creates some serious traffic nightmares.

But, if your team sucks, you don't play on those nights!

[shanti]

8. hello, rams!

i used to be a big rams fan in the late 60's (roman gabriel, etc.). they should never have left. what i want to know is why are the chargers moving?? were they not making any money in sandy eggo? are they trying to do the 49'ers/raiders thing?

[Gore1FL]

9. I rejoice that we won't be buying another stadium for a billionaire.

When the Football Cardinals were here Bidwiell whined endlessly about not having a domed stadium and finally left. After building the Edward Jones Dome (aka ,Trans World Dome, and Dome at America's Center) the Rams came. Now they want an open air stadium? Fuck them!

Glad to see them leave.

My apologies in advance to all of you good people of Southern CA.

[Sherman A1]

21. Agreed

I am very pleased that there is no longer a need for that shiny new stadium that was proposed to be built with taxpayer $'s. Good bye Rams and don't let the door hit you in the backside.

[fbc]

12. Good! Their racist fans were an embarassment to the NFL

during the Ferguson protests.

[Gore1FL]

17. There were Rams fans on both sides

Don't be preposterous.

[lbrtbell]

18. Are you crazy?

St. Louis is a majority black city. And it's not like 100% of the white people there are racist, so it's pretty safe to assume that the majority of people there are not anti-black.

My God, don't post something until you've at least pretended to inform yourself first.

[fbc]

25. I'm sorry, I was wrong. It was St. Louis Cardinals fans

I looked it up.

[Gore1FL]

29. Still wrong.

There are Cardinals fans on both sides too.

Stop geographic stereotyping.

[exboyfil]

14. Here is a write up of the Santa Clara taxpayer fleecing

http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/articleComments/Levi-s-Stadium-The-1-3-billion-bet-5687409.php

The comments are illuminating. This whole stadium thing is the reason I could never vote for Dayton for President/Vice President because of the Viking fleecing.

[Myrina]

22. Don't really have an opinion, but a question ...

.... does anyone really think TWO LA teams (Chargers and Rams) are going to be successful?

[GummyBearz]

27. I think the rams will have some success

The chargers will only sell out 1 game per year. That game is when they host the Raiders. LA fans are majority raider fans, and they hate the chargers as division rivals... not a single one will switch over. There are probably some old school ram fans left in LA that will gives the rams some money

[Gore1FL]

30. Once the newness wears off, the Rams will fail becasue they can't field a good team.

That's why they failed in St. Louis. (Other than Football is a distant third to Hockey which is a distant 2nd to baseball.)

[maxsolomon]

38. They certainly have Seattle's number.

I'd say an LA location will help their free-agent pursuits quite a bit. They might even get a decent QB!

[malthaussen]

47. That would be a first

The last time the Rams had a decent QB was when? Waterfield and Van Brocklin? And even then, they couldn't decide which one to use.

-- Mal

[pstokely]

31. financially yes, but on the field probably not

Kronke's Denver teams haven't had much success

[Angleae]

45. Why wouldn't they?

The area has 2 baseball teams, 2 basketball teams, 2 hockey teams. Why would 2 football teams be different?

[malthaussen]

24. What goes around, comes around.

I remember when the Oakland Raiders moved to LA, but they decided they didn't like it there and moved back to Oakland. Now the Rams have moved back to LA. Maybe the Cardinals should move back to St. Louis. The Colts are stuck in Indianapolis, though, since Baltimore got the Ravens.

-- Mal

[tarheelsunc]

46. Colts can go back to Baltimore, Ravens can go back to Cleveland....

and the expansion Browns franchise can be terminated. That would be great for Cleveland, but would take away a lot of the comic relief for fans of other teams.

[malthaussen]

48. Move the new model Browns to Phoenix...

... to compensate them for losing the Rams. But the names will have to change. Now, what would be a good name for an Arizona team? Phoenix Geezers?

-- Mal

[GummyBearz]

26. omg fuck the chargers

Their owner is willing to pay $550 million to leave san diego because he wants a new stadium, but he wont spend that money to build the stadium here? Shit bag. In other news, one year ago I was working about 5 miles from the new stadium site. Thank god I took a new job in san diego - traffic was bad then. Now the 405 freeway will be slower than surface streets

[Blue_Tires]

36. The NFL is a fuckin' joke

[maxsolomon]

40. Concussions are not funny.

Torn ligaments are not funny.

[bobthedrummer]

39. That certainly won't happen to our GREEN BAY PACKERS!!! n/t

[dembotoz]

49. when the braves left milwaukee it like cut the heart from my grandfather

he died prior to the brewers coming to town.