Stan Kroenke and his attempt to purchase the Los Angeles Dodgers came up on Monday at the NFL owners meeting in Palm Beach. League commissioner Roger Goodell addressed the matter of the league's cross ownership rules and Kroenke's bid to be a baseball owner. Goodell made another comment that could loom large for the city of St. Louis if Kroenke ends up buying the team.
Throughout the bidding process for the Dodgers, most have assumed that cross ownership rules would not apply to Kroenke since there is no NFL team in the Los Angeles market. Goodell made it clear that that was not the case.
According to Daniel Kaplan of the Sports Business Journal, Goodell said that the league does consider LA an NFL market, even without a team, and that Kroenke owning the Dodgers would be an issue.
Goodell said that he spoke with MLB commissioner Bud Selig and a said that the NFL would make a quick decision regarding Kroenke and the league's cross ownership rule. The NFL will have to move real quick; Dodgers owners Frank McCourt is due to pick a bidder by April 1.
Cross ownership rules were only part of the story. It was another comment from Goodell that gets the heart of the issue for fans in St. Louis.
Commissioner just called Chavez Ravine an "extraordinary stadium site" ... I've often heard it's the best place for an NFL home in LA.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 26, 2012
TST has said all along that one of the more attractive aspects of the Dodgers for Kroenke is that it also provides him with his own stadium for an NFL team in LA, the Rams. Sure, the proposals from AEG and Ed Roski are still a long way from reality, and probably less preferable for Kroenke, a real estate billionaire who knows that owning his own stadium is a golden goose in today's NFL. Stadium revenues go straight into the owners' pocket, not into the revenue sharing plan. And there is a ton of money to be made by owning a stadium, especially in a city like Los Angeles.
We should know soon what the league says about the cross ownership rules for Kroenke as well as which of the three remaining bidders will get the Dodgers. At last report, Kroenke was not seen by some as a favorite to purchase the Dodgers, but a cash bid could trump other considerations in selecting a bidder.
If Kroenke wins the bidding for the Dodgers, the city of St. Louis will most likely be without a football team.