Nobody really knows what's going on behind the scenes with St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke, the city and the state. In fact, there may not be much of anything. Jim Thomas of the PD has continually said that the Governor and Kroenke haven't spoken. Of course, Kroenke doesn't really do much speaking as it is, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised. Gov. Jay Nixon sat down for an interview with FOX 2 in St. Louis, and he discussed the stadium situation ... a little.
So what was the Governor's message? Stay calm.
He didn't confirm or deny whether or not he was in communication with Kroenke. More importantly, he implied that it's too soon to worry about it.
"We're looking very carefully at what we can do...what's best for the taxpayers as well as to keep this very important team there. I think the team...the NFL clearly wants to be in St. Louis. I think it's a good market for them. They like the center part of the country so we'll have some continuing discussions as the weeks and months go forward but they don't flip to year to year till 15, and so we've got some time here."
Timing, deadlines ... this is really the crux of the Rams stadium issue right now. We're a year away from any kind of meaningful deadline, and even at that point, when the Dome lease goes year-to-year, the two sides would still have time to work on something, if they so choose. It's not a dissimilar message than what Rams executive vice president Kevin Demoff has been saying since his boss' L.A. land purchase.
Long-time TST readers will have probably noticed that we don't do an awful lot with the stadium issue these days. That's my decision, because frankly, there's not much to talk about in the vacuum of news on the issue. If you want lame opinion pieces, from the pro-StL point of view, head over to the team's flagship radio station website; Randy Karraker has you covered with column trolling.
There's also another consideration here, we serve ALL audiences, from St. Louis to L.A. and places in between. I'm all for our readers taking a stand, but the point of this site is and has always been to fill the void of discussion and analysis created by the media covering the Rams, regardless of what city the team puts in front of its name.
So there's the Governor of Missouri talking Rams ... at about the 2:15 mark of that video. Personally, I don't think there's much to it. But feel free to read into it whatever plot you want.