The St. Louis Rams present situation in regards to a possible relocation back to Los Angeles has many layers. This is reality television at its best and we all have a front row seat. Tension and anxiety are running rapid in the hearts and minds of the loyal fan bases in St. Louis, San Diego and Los Angeles. There are some in St. Louis that say, “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” There’s also comical back and forth keyboard jawing by St. Louis Rams fans and Los Angeles Rams. Let us also not leave out Chargers fans who are fatigued about their own stadium issues and threats to lose their team back to the City of Angels where the franchise was founded in 1960.
Rams fans in Los Angeles feel like their team was taken from them and are tired of being used for leverage by other teams looking for better stadium deals. The locals cheered and rejoiced when Stan Kroenke unveiled a sparkling design for a new 80,000 seat stadium in Inglewood.
Alarms were sounded in both San Diego and St.Louis. Four days later the team of Bob Blitz and Dave Peacock presented designs for a new stadium project on the downtown St. Louis riverfront. Some people, myself included, loved the new stadium design and the plan of bringing in another professional sports team as a tenant. Sure, there are plenty of naysayers who don’t like the idea of having to foot the bill for another stadium since the present one hasn’t been paid for yet. I’m not one of them.
A week after both St. Louis and Los Angeles present designs for new stadiums, the city of San Diego’s plans to design or develop a new stadium appears to hit more than a snag. According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Tribune, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer gave a speech about finding more solutions to keep the Chargers from moving away. Apparently the plan outlined by Mayor Faulconer didn’t sit well with Mike Fabiani who serves as special counsel for the Charger. Fabiani rebuked the idea with the vigor of a faith healer under a tent, on a gravel parking lot, with a handkerchief soaked with perspiration.
Reading between the lines, the Chargers look like they have a better reason to leave than any team presently unhappy with their current stadium situation. Recently, according to Eric Williams of ESPN.com, the Chargers refuted a story that owner Dean Spanos has a deal in place with Goldman Sachs to build stadium in Los Angeles.
Back in St. Louis, I got a chance to sit down and talk with Jeff Rainford, Mayor Francis G. Slay’s chief of staff, downtown in City Hall. Rainford was very straight forward and spoke with confidence and zeal. When Rainford spoke out and said that St. Louis is not getting into a bidding war over the Rams, that’s where a line was drawn in the sand.
Some thought the administration didn’t care if the Rams left, which has never been the case. Others think local politicians dragged their feet in this process. That is certainly debatable.
NFL Executive Eric Grubman was recently in town to discuss the present situation with local officials and made an appearance on KMOX Radio with Tom Ackerman. He listed key objectives such as a permanent place to play, a plan between A and B, civic support, fund support, and more.
You can view exclusive interview with Jeff Rainford at youtube.com/stlamericanvideo.
