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Major League Baseball owners will vote on Tuesday on the three remaining bids for the Los Angeles Dodgers, including the bid from St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal. Frank McCourt, the Dodgers current owner, will then select a winning bidder by April 1.
If Kroenke does end up as the winning bidder in the Dodgers sweepstakes, the NFL would then immediately move to address the cross ownership situation. On Monday, Goodell told the press at the NFL owners meeting in Florida that owning the Dodgers would be an issue with the league's rule pertaining to cross ownership since the NFL does consider LA to be one of its markets.
At first, it seems curious that the league would wait to address the ownership issue only if Kroenke was selected as the winning bidder. Then again, what choice do they really have? It makes you think that the NFL is fairly confident that the matter can be resolved simply and quickly if it does come to fruition. With no team in LA currently, they would certainly have an easy way around the issue, or they might be looking toward the precedent established with NBA and NHL franchises Kroenke owns, until 2014, in Denver.
On the surface, it seems like Kroenke owning the Dodgers and their stadium is a one-way ticket for the Rams' return to Los Angeles. I have been told on good authority that is not that case. The issue is more complex than that. At the very least, Frank McCourt will still own the land and parking lots around Dodger Stadium, making construction of a football stadium difficult and potentially cost-prohibitive.
Ultimately, the decision is McCourt's to make. ESPN LA has a fascinating piece portraying him as torn on the matter, specifically how he can refuse the Magic/Kasten bid which is easily the most popular choice within the community there.
Something else to remember in the politics of this issue: Magic Johnson has pledged to be part of the AEG ownership group involved in the efforts to bring a team to LA.