NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay

[BBTV]

Sixers owner reportedly wants to own the first London NFL team:

http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/blogs/sports/sixers&id=361453071

[colortv]

Why is St. Louis even bothering with a plan that calls for $150 million in public funding for a $1 billion+ stadium(Whose design the NFL considers subpar anyway)

The NFL and Kroenke will not go for that.

[JayMac]

Sixers owner reportedly wants to own the first London NFL team:

http://mobile.philly.com/beta?wss=/philly/blogs/sports/sixers&id=361453071

They would probably blow up that franchise the way they have with the Sixers.

[Gothamite]

Why is St. Louis even bothering with a plan that calls for $150 million in public funding for a $1 billion+ stadium(Whose design the NFL considers subpar anyway)

The NFL and Kroenke will not go for that.

Got me. But that seems to be their plan.

I thought the public contribution had gone up, since the naming rights are now to count as part of the team's contribution.

[dfwabel]

Why is St. Louis even bothering with a plan that calls for $150 million in public funding for a $1 billion+ stadium(Whose design the NFL considers subpar anyway)

The NFL and Kroenke will not go for that.

Got me. But that seems to be their plan.

I thought the public contribution had gone up, since the naming rights are now to count as part of the team's contribution.

Grubman showed he really earns his money from that extended interview with Bernie. The first 30-35 minutes were great, then the last few minutes it fizzled out into Stan's net worth.

It did become clear that St. Louis and the state are essentially on votng to build the 2016-18 version of the Alamodome or Suncoast Dome/The Trop.

[STL FANATIC]

Why is St. Louis even bothering with a plan that calls for $150 million in public funding for a $1 billion+ stadium(Whose design the NFL considers subpar anyway)

The NFL and Kroenke will not go for that.

Got me. But that seems to be their plan.

I thought the public contribution had gone up, since the naming rights are now to count as part of the team's contribution.

These are still reasonable questions, but it's actually $300-400 million in funding depending on where you place the revenue from an amusement tax that may be placed on tickets. (The NFL is not willing to consider that public money.)

The plan calls for $200 million from the NFL and $250 million from the team. Public bonds and tax credits are covering about $300 million. All the stuff in between is money generated by the public but in manner that the NFL believes should be counted towards their tab (such as PSLs).

The argument some will make is that even though Kroenke accepting this seems like a complete non-starter, this has a reasonable chance of being enough to convince the owners to not allow him to move. Were I interested in keeping the NFL around, I'd consider this a decent stance, actually.

But I don't, so it just makes it worse.

[Gothamite]

Who picks up the overages under that plan? There's an additional couple hundred million they'll need to worry about.

[STL FANATIC]

That's one of the big issues, IMO. I think the answer has kind of been "the state, maybe?"

They're not trying to put it on the NFL, but they also haven't exactly been clear on the answer. It's all very dumb.

[STL FANATIC]

Hold this thought. I may have fallen for super dry sarcasm. But... also, attendance was clear sparse from some photos I saw.

Attendance at the Rams game today is 17,892. A 40-year low for the NFL.

It's fan appreciation day.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

Wonder if it will be even worse on Thursday Night. Do those games usually draw better or worse? They'll be head to head with a Blues game, which may or may not matter.

[Gothamite]

Okay, maybe my reaction was premature, then.

Holy .

While the politicians are falling all over themselves to give Kroenke public money, the fans have clearly decided that they're not interested.

If they're not interested, and the Rams aren't interested, why exactly are St. Louis and Missouri so desperate to spend that taxpayers' cash?

[BBTV]

Wait a minute - that has to be turnstyle clicks, not paid attendance, right? I mean their season ticket base alone has to be higher than that, even if they don't actually show up.

[The_Admiral]

Wow, even the Oilers' season in Memphis never went below 20,000, did it?

[Gothamite]

Don't see an official number, but a local beat writer tweeted this photo of the stands at kickoff:

Insert joke here like "the Rams are getting used to that "fashionably late" LA crowd."

[Gothamite]

While on Twitter looking for attendance info, I found this little nugget from the NBC affiliate in San Diego:

New Interview with Disney CEO Working on Chargers Carson Stadium Plan Raising Questions

The Chargers and Raiders brought Disney C.E.O. Bob Iger on to their joint stadium project in Carson to try and strengthen their proposal, but sources tell NBC 7 SportsWrap Iger's recruitment could be the very thing that destroys their chances.

In an interview with Vincent Bonsignore of the Los Angeles Daily News, Iger may have shared a little too much information. He was telling the story of how he got involved with the Carson project when he revealed who specifically asked him to come on board.

"I was approached - I guess I can do this Mark, talk about the genesis in a little more detail? - I was approached by (Panthers owner) Jerry Richardson," said Iger, "and he asked whether I'd be interested in helping very specifically the partnership of the Raiders and the Chargers move to L.A., develop a stadium, reposition themselves here. I engaged in conversations with Jerry and then with both entities. That's how it came about."

The individual Iger refers to as Mark is Chargers special counsel Mark Fabiani, who was in the room for the interview. Fabiani did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

Jerry Richardson is a leader of the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, a group of six NFL owners that was formed in February by Commissioner Roger Goodell. According to the memo sent at that time, the committee is supposed to "evaluate the various stadium options available in Los Angeles, oversee the application of the relocation guidelines in the event that one or more clubs seek to move to Los Angeles, ensure proper coordination with other standing committees and confirm that all steps taken in Los Angeles are consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws and NFL policies."

The NFLs official Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations states, in part, that the commissioner, "may also convene a special committee to perform fact-finding or other functions with respect to any such proposed transfer."

That verbiage suggests the six committee members are supposed to be watchdogs to help make sure the process is followed to the letter, not necessarily be part of the process.

Iger said his meeting with Richardson was also somewhat of a clandestine operation.

"When Jerry approached me, he asked for some degree of confidentiality, said Iger. I didn't discuss it until much later with the league."

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, two different attorneys familiar with the situation who have dealt with the NFL in the past told NBC 7 SportsWrap that Richardsons actions could help lay the groundwork for a collusion lawsuit by either the City/County of San Diego or, more likely, Stan Kroenke and the Rams.

There are several reasons for this, according to the attorneys:

- Richardson sought cooperation from an influential individual (Iger) to a specific project in the best interest of two owners (Dean Spanos and Mark Davis) and did so in a confidential manner.

- This individual's involvement is a detriment to another owner (Kroenke).

- Richardson's status as the head of the Committee on Los Angeles Opportunities, which has influence on the decision process.

- There are financial ramifications for Richardson's actions (in the billions of dollars).

[/ul]

Taken all together, the attorneys said, that would satisfy the conditions necessary to bring a collusion lawsuit.

Its unknown at this time if Kroenke will take this route, but reports from the latest round of NFL owners meetings suggest his Inglewood project is trailing the Carson project almost two-to-one and he may not be able to earn enough votes to, if not win the race to Los Angeles, at least block Spanos and Davis for a while longer (it takes 24 of the 32 owners to approve a franchise relocation).

The threat of a lawsuit could very well turn the tide in Kroenke's favor if he chooses to utilize it. Even if something that drastic does not transpire, it could force Commissioner Roger Goodell to ask Richardson to leave the L.A. Committee or even throw out any suggestions it has already made.

These seemingly simple and honest statements from Iger could represent the first impactful misstep weve seen in the Chargers' strategy that has been executed by Fabiani.

[Gothamite]

Man, I should go on Twitter more often. There's some comedy gold here.

Now Bernie Miklasz is now claiming he didn't actually invite Grubman to come on his show, despite everything the two said on the air. Grubman was planted on the show as part of a vast anti-St. Louis conspiracy.

http://www.101sports.com/2015/12/10/st-louis-stan-kroenke-nfl-already-preparing-round-two/

What an embarrassment. Bernie is a spoiled infant, lashing out in emotional tantrums.

[Rockstar Matt]

That sucks. I like the Panthers, but Richardson can go f*** himself.

EDIT: And that's 2,000 posts. Add me to the long list of weirdos who frequent a message forum about sports logos so often.

[STL FANATIC]

Hold this thought. I may have fallen for super dry sarcasm. But... also, attendance was clear sparse from some photos I saw.

Attendance at the Rams game today is 17,892. A 40-year low for the NFL.

It's fan appreciation day.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL.

Wonder if it will be even worse on Thursday Night. Do those games usually draw better or worse? They'll be head to head with a Blues game, which may or may not matter.

Ok, so I didn't fall for sarcasm, I fell for a guy who's "got a guy". Do with that what you will

They don't announce the people through the turnstiles, they announce tickets distributed. That was 51,202. Attendance wasn't even close to that, but I have no idea if the 17,000 number should be believed.

It does mean you can't really put any stock in the 40-year low number who knows what numbers teams are reporting for attendance. Rarely is it the real thing.

[STL FANATIC]

Man, I should go on Twitter more often. There's some comedy gold here.

Now Bernie Miklasz is now claiming he didn't actually invite Grubman to come on his show, despite everything the two said on the air. Grubman was planted on the show as part of a vast anti-St. Louis conspiracy.

http://www.101sports.com/2015/12/10/st-louis-stan-kroenke-nfl-already-preparing-round-two/

What an embarrassment. Bernie is a spoiled infant, lashing out in emotional tantrums.

I dunno. Bernie draws some stupid conclusions from it, but I think this general theory about Grubman choosing to do his show at this point in time seems reasonable. I don't think anything he's doing isn't calculated.

[Gothamite]

Bernie had enough tantrums during that interview itself. This is just a continuation, and anything he says instantly lacks credibility because of it.

But yeah, once teams started reporting "tickets distributed" instead of turnstile clicks, the numbers became meaningless.

[STL FANATIC]

Well, I think everything Bernie said in the interview was pretty valid. But I know you and I disagree on that.

But the one thing I strongly disagree with Bernie on is that it's worth our tax dollars to keep this God forsaken business in our town. He thinks that makes me a clown.