NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay

[Gothamite]

now we're in a situation where our fan base is afraid to go all-in because nobody is sure what the Rams future in St. Louis is.

That's the essential catch-22 of possibly relocating teams. Fans stay away because they're unsure of the team's future in town, but reduced attendance can cause the teams to look even harder at relocation.

[STL FANATIC]

I don't know what this means for negotiations, but the CVC believes the Rams would be violating their lease by taking a home game to London.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/st-louis-rams-must-play-all-home-games-at-dome/article_94108892-4928-11e1-a0da-001a4bcf6878.html?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

On one hand, Kroenke is playing hardball, so you can't fault the CVC for pulling whatever leverage they can. On the other hand, please don't piss Kroenke off!

[CubsFanBudMan]

I think that's a smart move on the CVC's part. There were a lot of fans jumping off the bandwagon in the comments of the London stories and talking about PSL lawsuits for the same reasons. At least it shows someone might put up a fight -- or perhaps has some leverage left.

Sadly, I think Kroenke killed the excitement about Jeff Fisher with his almost immediate London announcement. Makes you wonder.

[rams80]

Anyways, to summarize, certainly more excitement would help in this situation, but there's not exactly apathy on the fan base end. Not flocking to games (and again, it's not like ticket sales were that bad) to see a really bad football team doesn't mean people aren't interested in the future of the team. This isn't an Atlanta Thrashers situation where the team was so bad that a fan base barely existed and they could leave without much of an uproar. The fan base is here, and getting more and more vocal as this thing heats up.

The fan base doesn't count so long as they don't voice their support in a financially meaningful manner.

[rams80]

On one hand, Kroenke is playing hardball, so you can't fault the CVC for pulling whatever leverage they can. On the other hand, please don't piss Kroenke off!

Yeah, pushing "breach of contract" might be a bad idea right about now.

[Gothamite]

Interesting. Things had been so quiet I was wondering how much talking had been going on behind-the-scenes, and how productive those talks had been.

Now we know.

And in light of this, it appears that the 3-year London commitment was a shot across St. Louis's bow.

[DaytonBlue]

The CVC had to pull that card. Since it's unlikely the dome could be renovated to "first tier", this will be a negotiation for how much improvements Stan will accept for maybe another 15 or so year lease.

It still boggles my mind how a 17-year stadium is "obsolete". I know the reasons behind it (design is from late 80s, newer stadiums made great leaps in technology, etc.) but I still seems strange.

[STL FANATIC]

Interesting. Things had been so quiet I was wondering how much talking had been going on behind-the-scenes, and how productive those talks had been.

Now we know.

And in light of this, it appears that the 3-year London commitment was a shot across St. Louis's bow.

I don't think anyone thought otherwise. Any behind-the-scene talks were was simply the members of the CVC discussing their options. Negotiation between the two sides won't take place until Wednesday at the earliest and likely no earlier than May 1st.

[Gothamite]

The CVC had to pull that card. Since it's unlikely the dome could be renovated to "first tier", this will be a negotiation for how much improvements Stan will accept for maybe another 15 or so year lease.

I don't know about that. Seems to me as though this could backfire in a big way, especially if they're going to ask Kroenke to settle for much, much less than they're contractually obligated to give him.

I would have thought that the better ploy would be to show Kroenke what a great market St. Louis is, and what great partners they are, so he'll overlook the business considerations and offer what is essentially a hometown discount.

Suing Kroenke to enforce the letter of a contract only seems likely to make him more likely to hold CVC to their obligations in full. That's the sort of "negotiations" that led to the lopsided lease in the first place.

[STL FANATIC]

I don't think they have any intention of suing, just grabbing a little leverage as they head towards dialogue. I think it makes sense. As much as the Rams have pulled leverage in every which way, I think it was necessary.

Anyways, the Rams finally released their own statement. They SOUND civil at least. But who doesn't in prepared statements.

?We think that playing in London is great for the Rams and great for St. Louis. We are in talks with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which is also the region?s chief marketing group, about how to make the most of this opportunity. As the CVC said today, this will ?elevate an awareness of St. Louis on the global stage.? We look forward to having amicable and meaningful dialogue with the CVC on many issues and believe those conversations should remain between the parties.?

[Gothamite]

IOW, you better enjoy those last 21 home games, St. Louis.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Kroenke has pretty much all the leverage in what's referred to as "the worst lease in the NFL." Why should the CVC roll over and give him the rest? That's how they got in this mess in the first place. I'm still surprised they even had this card to play let alone played it.

If he's going to be all business when dealing with the public and suggest that he's playing hardball on all lease terms, I see no reason the CVC should catch flak for doing the same.

Even if it means "enjoy those last *24* home games."

[The_Admiral]

See, I'd love it if the CVC fought for those three games, because ew, London

[Gothamite]

The only hope St. Louis has to keep the Rams is to make lt less about business and more about public-spiritedness.

The more this is about business, the more certain I am that you should start stocking up on LA Rams merchandise from eBay.

[The_Admiral]

I love blue and yellow together and don't particularly love the Bears, so I might do it anyway.

[HedleyLamarr]

?We think that playing in London is great for the Rams and great for St. Louis. We are in talks with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which is also the region?s chief marketing group, about how to make the most of this opportunity. As the CVC said today, this will ?elevate an awareness of St. Louis on the global stage.? We look forward to having amicable and meaningful dialogue with the CVC on many issues and believe those conversations should remain between the parties.?

I'd love to hear an explanation how playing games in London is great for the city.

I assume the Rams organization will get compensated for losing a home game, but I doubt the same will be said for those that depend on home games for paychecks and added income...i.e. Dome employees and nearby establishment employees. Especially when there's only eight real games to begin with (preseason games don't count, especially for local restaurants).

I don't think the hotdog vendor gives a damn that Londonites are more aware about the plight that's known as East St. Louis when he's shafted out of a paycheck....

[Gothamite]

?We think that playing in London is great for the Rams and great for St. Louis. We are in talks with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which is also the region?s chief marketing group, about how to make the most of this opportunity. As the CVC said today, this will ?elevate an awareness of St. Louis on the global stage.? We look forward to having amicable and meaningful dialogue with the CVC on many issues and believe those conversations should remain between the parties.?

I'd love to hear an explanation how playing games in London is great for the city..

I think CVC thinks it can leverage the London exposure into increased tourism from the UK. That is the job of the "Convention and Visitor?s Commission", after all.

[HedleyLamarr]

Good luck with that.

Whomever the Rams are playing in London the next three years will get Brits coming to their town over St. Louis.

[Gothamite]

Yeah, I gave to admit that I don't see a lot of Missouri tourism arising from the Rams' games at Wembley.

[Saintsfan]

?We think that playing in London is great for the Rams and great for St. Louis. We are in talks with the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission, which is also the region?s chief marketing group, about how to make the most of this opportunity. As the CVC said today, this will ?elevate an awareness of St. Louis on the global stage.? We look forward to having amicable and meaningful dialogue with the CVC on many issues and believe those conversations should remain between the parties.?

I'd love to hear an explanation how playing games in London is great for the city..

I think CVC thinks it can leverage the London exposure into increased tourism from the UK. That is the job of the "Convention and Visitor?s Commission", after all.

I don't think it will neccesarily do any harm. But I would have thought the major thing would be more Rams merchandise being sold in the UK.

However I am still utterly convinced that the Patriots are a bad choice as first opponent if thats what the NFL and the Rams are after. If it were say the Rams against say the Vikings, Cardinals or Redskins you'd stand half a chance, but the Patriots have a following in the UK. In fairness its not the easiest of schedules to find a better home game to take to Wembley for the Rams. But the Patriots were amongst the worst in terms of drumming up some UK support for the Rams.