Kroenke wants the Rams: a new chapter in the ownership saga
by Ryan Van Bibber on Apr 12, 2010 8:38 PM CDT
in St. Louis Rams sale
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Real estate mogul Stan Kroenke would like to buy 100 percent of the St. Louis Rams.
Kroenke excercise his first right of refusal on Shahid Khan's offer to buy the 60 percent ownership stake currently held by Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez. The next step is clearing the league's cross-ownership rules, no small task. Of course, he could agree to put the Colorado Avalanche and the Denver Nuggets up for sale as part of an agreement with the league, and get the cash to purchase the roughly $400 million dollars or so that Rosenbloom and his sister are trying to sell. Or, he could charge in, cash in hand, and lobby the league and owners to make an exception or change the rule.
He also might convince them that he has the wherewithal to get a new stadium built in or around St. Louis.
Either way, the sale of the Rams just took another strange turn.
What does a Kroenke-owned Rams team mean?
First, it means there's a real good chance that the Rams will stick around in St. Louis. Could the real estate developer get a stadium deal done? "The house that Bradford and Kroenke built."
It might also say - and I hate to read too much into this - that the sports enthusiast and shrewd investor thinks that the Rams are headed in a profitable and winning direction.
He could have easily cashed out now, made money on his investment, and put it into the Arsenal or some other investment. Few would blamed him for walking away from the Rams.
There's also the labor agreement that has yet to be resolved (and looking like a case of financial brinkmanship on par with the Cuban Missile Crisis ). Kroenke might be very well convinced that the situation will resolve itself in a manner favorable to owners, and wants to jump into the NFL's most elite group when the buy-in is low.
I still have questions. If the league rejects Kroenke's bid because of the cross-ownership rules, can Khan jump back in? Will he?
Will the league make their decision in May, when they were scheduled to approve Khan's ownership bid?
There is much to be resolved, but it at least keeps it interesting (though I'm sure the front office will be relieved when it's finally settled). I hope film producer Chip Rosenbloom is keeping careful notes because this could be the basis for a pretty interesting flick.
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sando seems to think the kroenke bid will be approved.
follow me on twitter @nickg105
by stlcardinalsfang on Apr 12, 2010 8:57 PM CDT reply actions
I'm befuddled by this comment made by Sando:
Kroenke already owns the NBA and NHL teams in Denver, meaning his majority ownership of the Rams could threaten the Broncos.
Is he implying that he thinks Kroenke would move the Rams to Denver? I don’t think the league would approve of that. The Broncos have a pretty strong fanbase and I don’t think the Rams would be very successful being the second team there.
It has to do with Pat Bowlen
Bowlen was once interested in purchasing the Nuggets and Avs so if they were available, some believe he would try and acquire them and thus complicate the Broncos.
--Conquest Chronicles , SBNation's USC Trojans blog
by Joey Kaufman on Apr 12, 2010 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions
No problem. I was also scratching my head when I first read that.
--Conquest Chronicles , SBNation's USC Trojans blog
by Joey Kaufman on Apr 13, 2010 12:54 AM CDT up reply actions
I hope Kahn gets it
He CLEARLY has the better mustache.
Gregatron is not responsible for any of the crap he just wrote.
St. Louis vegetarian blog
Before jumping into this
you would think Kroenke sounded out the other owners on how they would react and what they would expect him to do with his Denver teams. Maybe not, but it sure doesn’t sound like good business to leap into this without having done any preliminary checking. On the other hand, maybe he figures it won’t cost him much to make the effort, and “nothing ventured nothing gained”. If nothing else, the Rams franchise sure is interesting.
so much for unheralded.
We’ve certainly come a long way from some considering this franchise one of the least alked about. (though ive always disagreed)
We’re one of the most talked about teams in football now.
i wish we weren't ever talked about again
we were good then
"You’ve got to play every game like it’s your last because it’s definitely survive-and-advance or don’t survive and school," Tiller said.
by stlcardsfan4 on Apr 13, 2010 7:45 AM CDT up reply actions
I dunno...
I was kind of hoping it would be Khan. He was a self made man, he is genuinely a Rams fan, sort of lives in the area (albeit Illinois).
Kroenke might be from Columbia, but that’s about it. He married his money, and now seems to be simply a professional sports team owner, trying to amass a big a collection of them as possible. If he weren’t the owner, would he be a Rams fan? To him, sports teams are just a way of impressing other billionaires…
And that's why I like Kroenke
A guy like that generally thinks with his head, not necessarily his heart.
--Conquest Chronicles , SBNation's USC Trojans blog
by Joey Kaufman on Apr 13, 2010 4:05 AM CDT up reply actions
the greatest type of owner
is the owner you never hear from. the jerry joneses and mark cubans of the world don’t do it for me. seeing as though stan has owned 40 percent for this long and this is the biggest wave he’s made, i figure he’ll escape back into silent obscurity if the sale goes through. just as long as he leaves the blank checkbook laying around, i approve.
block! building kick! exploooooooosion!
by mooseknuckles41 on Apr 13, 2010 3:10 AM CDT reply actions
Kroenke blows
I’m a Denver Nuggets fan, and this guy absolutely refuses to open his wallet for anything. (He owns the Nuggets just in case people didn’t know). He’s 100% business, not that I blame him, but at least Daniel Snyder cares about the time (misguided as he is). If he had just invested $5 million more in the Nuggets and gotten them another rotational big body, Denver could be contenders. But he couldn’t care less about the team.
What an interesting turn of events...
… I hope it goes through and as fast as possible. We need a period of calm waters so the Rams can focus on making the team competitive.
I see Fox sports here is saying
Kroenke will turn ownership of the Denver franchises over to a family member. He also has put together a group of investors to help finance the purchase of the Rams. It looks like he has everything lined up and ready to go. All he has to do is match Khan’s bid and it looks like the NFL owners will greet him with open arms.
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