Don't look now, but the Los Angeles Rams are back in the news. That's not a typo. I realize that they're still the St. Louis Rams, but St. Louis Magazine is reviving the specter of an L.A. relocation based on existing business partnerships between Rams owner Stan Kroenke and  Philip Anschutz, founder of L.A. stadium developer AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group). While the possibility of the Rams moving to L.A. is something nobody should sleep on, the author of this post misses some key recent developments related to the L.A. stadium talk...ironically enough, while taking the Post-Dispatch and other St. Louis media outlets to task for missing the Kroenke-AEG connection. 

Ray Hartman, the author of the post, does indeed mention the L.A. City Council's 12-0 vote that approved AEG's framework for building Farmers Field, the downtown L.A. stadium. However, he overlooks a key point for making Farmers Field grow in downtown L.A.: AEG's timeline. 

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The St. Louis Rams are not for sale, according to owner Stan Kroenke who purchased 100 percent of the franchise not even a year ago. Kroenke's unwillingness to sell is notable on a day when reports revealed that sports and entertainment company AEG approached five NFL teams, including the Rams, about purchasing a majority stake and relocating to Los Angeles. 

Kroenke wasn't responding specifically to the AEG news today, but, according to the Post-Dispatch, he has said that he is unwilling to sell. He also continues to remain adamant about keeping the team in St. Louis, notable in and of itself.

If accurate, the idea that AEG is approaching these five teams about buying a majority share strikes me as a little odd. Obviously, I'm most familiar with the Rams, and given that Kroenke has owned it less than a year, it doesn't take Warren Buffet (that sums up my rich guy knowledge) to tell you that it wouldn't make much sense for him to sell now. Of course, from AEG's perspective, the real money is in owning the team and the venue, so why not try.

The Raiders also rebuffed AEG, telling the press that the team was not for sale.  Minnesota was less direct about it, but they could also be using it as leverage to get a deal around the Twin Cities. 

Farrar has an interesting take at Yahoo, noting that the NFL could recoup some of the money likely to be lost in the new CBA, from the initial extra $1 billion owners were seeking. The money would come from the fees from the sale of a team. He also raises the specter of an expansion team in LA as a way to bring in that bacon. (Is there enough talent for an expansion?)

Then again, having an NFL-less LA gives the league some leverage in stadium fights in other cities too. 

For now, we know that the Rams aren't a likely candidate to be sold, and, as I pointed out this morning, likely to be moved by Kroenke into a new home that he doesn't own. 

The St. Louis Rams, emphasis on St. Louis, are one of five teams that have been approached by sports and entertainment giant AEG about a potential purchase and relocation to Los Angeles. AEG is leading the charge to build Farmer's Field next to the Staples Center, owned by AEG, in downtown LA. Nabbing a team would go along way toward making that stadium project a reality. The other four teams are the Chargers, Jaguars, Raiders and Vikings. 

So how likely is a Rams move under this scenario?

If AEG is interested in purchasing a majority stake in a franchise, as suggested by the report, that would almost have to rule out the St. Louis Rams, purchased less than a year ago by billionaire developer Stan Kroenke. Kroenke already owned a minority stake in the Rams and jumped at the chance after Illinois auto parts magnate Shahid Kahn made an initial offer for the share owned by George Frontier's children. Kroenke selling a majority of the franchise he just purchased seems unlikely, very unlikely. The CBA issue is going to be settled, sooner or later, and the league is on the verge of at least $11 billion in revenues this season. Kroenke isn't going to sell with franchise valuations set to rise exponentially in the coming years. Another reason Silent Stan may be less apt to sell: owning a stadium is big money.

The real money is in owning a stadium, something Kroenke is well aware of as a real estate developer and the fact that he owns the Pepsi Center where his, er, his son's pro teams, the NBA Nuggets and the NHL Avalanche, play in Denver. Buying the Rams when he did, Kroenke also bought a chance to develop his own stadium for the team, something that's been very profitable for owners like Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder.

None of this is to rule out the possibility of the Rams moving to LA. However, if owning a venue is a central as it would seem to be for Kroenke's plans, LA might be a tough market to crack for the Rams since other developers are building the stadiums. Like I said, anything can happen though. 

Right now, if AEG is trying to angle in as a majority stake holder, the Vikings, with their stadium issues, or the Chargers, who also want a new home, make much more sense. The Jacksonville Jaguars seem like much more realistic possibility than the Rams at this point too, though I'm not as familiar with their issues, other than the struggles of being a small market team. 

The NFL approved Stan Kroenke as the new owner of the St. Louis Rams today with a unanimous vote by the league's owners. 

That's good news for the Rams as they no longer have to operate amidst the background noise of a pending ownership change. There was plenty of speculation during the offseason that the team held back in free agency because of the looming change of the guards, but that theory never made much sense, especially after the Rams drafted QB Sam Bradford with the first overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft, guaranteeing him a contract worth close to $80 million with $50 million guaranteed. 

To me the biggest issue around the ownership question was, like I said above, the additional uncertainty for a franchise in transition. After more than half a decade of instability, the Rams finally got on the right course following the 2008 season when they cleaned out the front office and made Billy Devaney the general manager in place of the incompetent bureaucrat Jay Zygmunt. Last season the ground under foot was still shaky as Devaney and an all new coaching staff tried to piece together a team from the ashes of decaying rubble that passed for a roster. 

Already, things are starting to look up for the Rams, though they have a long way to go. Kroenke assumes the role of the Rams' sole owner with two big challenges already on the horizon. Normally, fans would already be speculating about what the Rams might do in free agency next year, but the only speculation happening now is whether or not there will be a football season. Even with some protections measures in place, like a guaranteed stream of TV revenue whether there's anything to broadcast or not, the Rams will be in a tough position as a small market team desperately trying to repair its relationship with a fanbase that hasn't been buying tickets lately. Beyond that, the Rams have a looming stadium issue when they reach an out clause in their lease on the Ed Jones Dome in 2014. At that point, the Rams will have to find a new home, be it in the St. Louis Metro area or some other market. 

Anyway, that's all down the road a bit, so let's just extend a big fan welcome to Stan Kroenke.

A group of St. Louis business leaders recently had a tour of the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and according to the Post-Dispatch, they came away with a sense of just how important a new facility would be for the St. Louis Rams and the city itself. They also got a sense of just how monumental a task it will be for this to happen in St. Louis, requiring the support of lawmakers and the public who will likely have to pitch in a significant portion of the costs for a new stadium. 

Indeed, it’s unclear at this point that there’s appetite, or money, for a new football stadium in St. Louis. But that’s something we need to figure out soon, said Kevin Cahill, a former member of the commission that built the Edward Jones Dome who’s on the RCGA trip.

The new stadium figures to be a major issue in Stan Kroenke's purchase of the Rams. Kroenke is a real estate developer with experience getting facilities built. Given his assets, he could probably pull together a small group of investors, including himself, to fund at least a portion of a new facility in St. Louis, which is no doubt one reason NFL owners will approve his takeover bid for the Rams. He's also a big contributor to the Missouri Republican party, which has pretty firm control over the state legislature; that could be helpful when it comes when it comes to getting some public money for a new stadium. 

As you can see from the info about Lucas Oil Stadium in the link above, it's a little pricier at $1.1. billion than the Pepsi Center, Kroenke's venue in Colorado. The parallel between the two facilities is Kroenke's ability to expand the use of his Denver facility, including soccer and arena football on top of the usual convention center and conference events. 

Of course, the Rams front office and the team on the field will have a lot to say about this matter too. If the rebuilding process begun by GM Billy Devaney continues as planned the Rams should be selling more tickets as people come to see a winning team. 

Still months away from being approved as the Rams new owner - now all but certain given the endorsements he's received - Kroenke's arrival will mark a new chapter in the Rams stadium saga. Stay tuned. 

How about some stadium talk for your Monday afternoon? If and when the St. Louis Rams get their ownership situation settled, one of the next major items on the agenda will be finding a solution for the 2015 out clause in their lease on the not so friendly confines of the Ed Jones Dome. That clause states that the Dome has to be among the top 25% of league facilities by 2015 or the Rams can walk away for greener pastures. 

The odds of the Dome being in the top quartile, already a long shot, potentially got a little worse today with news that the Atlanta Falcons would like to start building a new home in 2012. 

One option likely to be available to the Rams by then is a move back to Southern California, something one LA Times columnists urges his readers to be leery of given the track record of stadium development in the area (hat tip to mooseknuckles for the link). 

Put the two items together and you know absolutely nothing more about the Rams potential new home circa 2016 than you did yesterday...but it does at least serve as an ominous reminder that the franchise has hurdles to cross after they finally find a new owner.

I've been kind of nonchalant about the St. Louis Rams ownership situation. I was happy with Shahid Khan when he was the lead horse to purchase the Rosenbloom's 60 percent share. When Stan Kroenke threw his name into the mix at the last minute, I was fine with that too. Both men have ties to the region making it more likely for the Rams to stay in or around St. Louis. The advantage to Kroenke owning the team was primarily his deep pockets and solid track record as a pro sports owner. 

Thought I'm not exactly fired up about the ownership situation as it stands now, I would classify myself as mildly annoyed. The uncertainty of situation is said to be having an impact on the front office's plans to rebuild the team, limiting free agent spending, according to a source cited in today's PD article. 

And the latest news in the saga, the "wife option," gives it a strange twist. Essentially, it's Stan telling the league that he wants the Rams and doesn't intend to cede control over the NBA and NHL teams he owns in Denver. For such a shrewd businessman, I'm wondering if this move wasn't very well conceived. Plus, he's kind of screwing Khan in this whole thing, but that's business. Had Kroenke not thrust himself into the mix, the ownership situation would be very close to resolved when team owners meet in a couple weeks.

Whatever option he and the league deem the best, it needs to get worked out as soon as possible before the situation really does start to compromise what the Rams are trying to do on the field. 

Stan Kroenke told Bernie Miklasz of the Post-Dispatch today that he would like to keep the St. Louis Rams under the Arch. 

I'm going to attempt to do everything that I can to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Just as I did everything that I could to bring the team to St. Louis in 1995. I believe my actions speak for themselves.

I've always stepped up for pro football in St. Louis. And I'm stepping up one more time.

As I've said before, my roots run pretty deep in St. Louis, and on a personal level this is good news. On the business side of things though, Kroenke and everyone else knows that in the NFL any team in any city can make a profit. Remember, the buy low price for the Rams was around $750 million. Get the team back on track, and that could easily get back to the billion dollar neighborhood. Teams don't always make big profits, and a sub-standard product on the field will kill the bottom line as fast as anything as fans stop buying tickets and watching the games. The Rams could be especially profitable if they can get a new stadium deal done, and though it's never been said, I'll wager that the possibility of getting a stadium is a big part of Kroenke's interest in the Rams. He does have a track record with owning teams and the venues where they play, to wit, the Pepsi Center and the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets. 

If the draft goes well for the Rams this weekend, the franchise should be a giant leap closer to a better future. That would sell tickets and make a stadium deal much more realistic.