12/21/24
January 13, 2016
NFL Approves Rams Move to Los Angeles, Chargers Invited to Join: In a deal brokered by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, NFL owners voted 30-2 to approve the move of the St. Louis Rams back to Los Angeles, where they will play in the $2 billion Inglewood stadium planned by Rams owner Stan Kroenke. The San Diego Chargers have a year to work out a deal with Kroenke to join him in L.A., after which the Oakland Raiders get a shot. The St. Louis Post Dispatch quotes several owners after the vote, including a giddy Jones, who is a business partner of Kroenke in non-NFL ventures.
A comment on the second link: "Lost the Big Red. Lost an expansion franchise to Jacksonville. Now lost the Rams. Almost lost the Blues. Let's not forget the Hawks too. Right after winning a championship no less. St. Louis City & County politics are not appealing. Might be a good time to look in the mirror."
I hadn't realized St. Louis had lost so many franchises. I would not have thought it a city that so many teams would leave, given its regional prominence and population.
posted by rcade at 10:34 AM on January 13, 2016
St. Louis really has gotten the stiff arm from major league sports over the years. The NFL made sure that Cleveland was taken care of after Modell left. The NBA made sure that Charlotte was taken care of after Shinn left. The NHL took care of Minnesota after the North Stars left. Baltimore would have been taken care of if Modell hadn't gone there. And so on and so forth.
Other cities have been forsaken (Seattle by the NBA) and no one ever talks about moving a team to Oakland if they were to lose the Raiders or A's. But I think St. Louis is the loss leader.
Add being giddy about Kroenke to the long list of examples that prove beyond all doubt that Jerry Jones is a great judge of character.
I've never come across a list of events that had a long lasting impact on the NFL. If there is one, the swap of the Rams and Colts between Irsay and Rosenbloom back in the late 70's would have to be near the top of it. I don't think anyone could have imagined at the time what a league shaping agreement that would turn out to be (and not in predominantly good ways). The ripple effects of that deal are still being felt today.
posted by beaverboard at 11:35 AM on January 13, 2016
St. Louis really has gotten the stiff arm from major league sports over the years. The NFL made sure that Cleveland was taken care of after Modell left. The NBA made sure that Charlotte was taken care of after Shinn left. The NHL took care of Minnesota after the North Stars left. Baltimore would have been taken care of if Modell hadn't gone there. And so on and so forth.
Add to that the Spirits of St. Louis being one of two then-active teams not to survive the ABA-NBA merger. Mitigated by the fact that (a) they had only been in St. Louis for two seasons before the merger, and (b) the owners made out like bandits.
posted by holden at 02:20 PM on January 13, 2016
St. Louis really has gotten the stiff arm from major league sports over the years
It all started here.
posted by NerfballPro at 07:20 PM on January 13, 2016
You mean when they stole a team from Milwaukee?
posted by Etrigan at 07:34 PM on January 13, 2016
In the darkest timeline, the St Louis Stallions are aiming for their 5th Super Bowl victory in the past 15 years, and the New England Rams are heading back to LA.
posted by Rock Steady at 08:44 AM on January 14, 2016
A Stallions hat could be mine for $150. Going to pass though.
The older I get, the more I agree with the English attitude toward sports teams: they are a public trust and belong to the fans no matter who owns them. The owner would have 0 interest in the team if the fans weren't there. Holding those fans hostage (and by extension hundreds of thousands or millions of neighbors who don't care about the team at all) to extract free money from a municipality is disgusting, especially when the beneficiary is already a billionaire. I think the Patriots' story under Kraft stands as a rebuke to every bare-faced bastard like Stan Kroenke who claims their current situation is a "Road to ruin". Bailing these assholes out is a moral hazard; even if his claim were true, tough shit. No one saves me if I pick the wrong stock. Kraft bought a team that was in a bad way (though improving) and after doing this dickhead dance with Providence and Hartford, stood pat (!), improved the team and then built his own stadium (after doing a bit of two-step about public financing) and now has the second-most-valuable team in the league. It's a long way from the steel bleachers of Sullivan Stadium to now and it took a fair bit of luck along the way, but it's clearly do-able.
posted by yerfatma at 09:34 AM on January 14, 2016
Kroenke is the biggest shareholder in Arsenal, which says everything right there. Doesn't it?
posted by billsaysthis at 10:46 AM on January 14, 2016
In fairness, it's worth noting that Kansas City has also had its share of sporting woe. Lost a NHL team, a NBA team, a MLB team, and had various teams relocate or fold up. If the A's had not relocated there from Philadelphia, and had Lamar Hunt kept his AFL team in Dallas, would KC have MLB and NFL franchises today?
posted by beaverboard at 11:20 AM on January 14, 2016
St. Louis has not done well in the NBA either. The Tri-City Hawks were an original National Basketball League club, and became part of the NBA in 1949. Later (1951) they moved to Milwaukee, then in 1955 to St. Louis. Of course, the deal with Boston, giving the 2nd overall draft pick to the Celtics, in exchange for Cliff Hagen and hometown boy Ed Macauley. Boston would use the pick on some guy named Russell, who reported late for the 1956-57 season because of the Olympics in Australia. Another Celtics' connection was Bob Cousy, who was originally drafted by Tri-Cities, would not sign, and his rights were traded to the Chicago Stags. Chicago folded, their players were put out to the rest of the league, and Cousy's name wound up being picked out of a hat by the Celtics, who really didn't want him. St. Louis won the NBA championship in 1958, beating the Celtics 4-2 when Bill Russell had an ankle sprain that kept him off the court.
The Hawks played most of their home games in Kiel Auditorium, a small venue that held only 10,000 fans. The owner, Ben Kerner, wanted a new arena, although the larger St. Louis Arena was being renovated pending the arrival of the St. Louis Blues. Kerner did not want to play in the Arena, the city government would not help with a new arena, so in 1967 Kerner sold the team to Atlanta ownership.
posted by Howard_T at 11:33 PM on January 14, 2016
There's so much to hate in that second link about the owners, particularly in regard to Jerry Jones. The way he insulted a $158 million naming rights deal for a St. Louis stadium is astonishing. NFL owners don't even try to hide their rapacious greed any more.
As a Jaguars fan I was hoping St. Louis would lose the L.A. sweepstakes, because that city is where owner Shad Khan first wanted a team. Buoyed by the London relationship, he says he has no interest in moving the team to St. Louis. And when an NFL owner has given his word, surely we can rely on that.
I bet the team's future in Jacksonville hinges on whether Khan gets lots of taxpayer help creating the Shipyards project, an attempt to turn dingy industrial waterfront near the stadium into an entertainment, retail and hotel complex.