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NFL Merry-Go-Round: Relocation Roundelay


duma

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So yeah, I know it was just a preseason game and there was a Cards home game with playoff implications that afternoon, but really, couldn't anybody have been bothered to show up to the Rams game Saturday evening? Way to show your enthusiasm St. Louis.

Really?

I read that it was packed and that scalpers were on the street were trying to BUY tickets.

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Must have been "come in empty seat cosplay day" because that place looked frickin' empty on TV.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Yeah, I see that it was probably only about 3/5 full doing some reading.

Oh well. It's a preseason football game for a team that went 2-14 last year and is 16-65 and all that other stuff that's already well established.

And the team didn't do anything last week to create new excitement. The fact that fans are in wait and see mode right now isn't news.

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Yes, but when the team is in peril of moving to Los Angeles, it might help the fans a little to actually show up to all of the games. It might help shut people up about thinking that the team is unsupported.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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I look at it like those NHL exhibition games that don't sell out in Kansas City - the poor attendance is not necessarily a sign of a bad market, but it is a wasted opportunity to show off the fanbase.

That's not the only reason why Kansas City still doesn't have a hockey team, but it could be a contributing one. These things are cumulative. A rabid, ready-made fanbase might have convinced an investment group to make a serious run at the market. Conversely, a tepid response could well have scared off that group.

I don't think the Rams will say "They won't come to our preseason games? Screw them, we're going home to LA!" But there's a reason that they play them, and it's not all about talent evaluation. If the Rams saw a massive turnout, the organization could view it as a sign that they could still make money in the market, and maybe that makes them ever-so-slightly more inclined to compromise in mediation. Maybe. Couldn't have hurt to show that support.

Not a bad sign, but a wasted opportunity for St. Louis to give the Rams a good sign.

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I agree entirely with that, Goth.

The St. Louis fan base certainly could have made a statement to Kroenke and company that this is a great spot for them and they needed to do everything they could to stay.

But a massive turnout doesn't make the opposite statement. And this is my own speculation, but I doubt as if it changes their motivation at all. At least publicly, the Rams front office seems to have a good pulse on the feelings of Rams fans and sympathizes with them for the bad product they've put out the past many years. I think it's pretty likely the Rams were unsurprised and unconcerned (in terms of the markets long-term potential) by the turnout.

The regular season attendance may play more of a role, but even then I don't think it will make a large impact. I think they know they need to show the ability to be a contender to get fans back (not necessarily to keep them, but to win them back after such a bad stretch), and I think they're aware that having some positive momentum while going 5-11 isn't necessarily going to do that (although it would not be a bad stepping stone season in many ways).

If ticket sales are so bad that they aren't even close enough to have corporations and/or themselves step up a bit to avoid blackouts, that would be something. But given that wasn't even the case last year, I doubt it will be this year.

Anyways, I've started getting back into a conversation we've had plenty of times, so I'll call it a night there.

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I'm trying to pin down the actual proposal (the link I got from Twitter isn't loading) but the CVC reportedly gave the Rams a new proposal this morning. More to come...

I take that back. It DID load eventually. Here's the link. I haven't looked through it or read anyone's opinion on it yet, so here it is entirely without comment.

http://slcvc.explorestlouis.com/cvc/Final%20-%20CVC%20Proposal%20Design%20Proposal%20August%202012.pdf

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Key note at the end: They're still asking for the Rams to pay 50 + 1% of the costs at minimum.

On 8/1/2010 at 4:01 PM, winters in buffalo said:
You manage to balance agitation with just enough salient points to keep things interesting. Kind of a low-rent DG_Now.
On 1/2/2011 at 9:07 PM, Sodboy13 said:
Today, we are all otaku.

"The city of Peoria was once the site of the largest distillery in the world and later became the site for mass production of penicillin. So it is safe to assume that present-day Peorians are descended from syphilitic boozehounds."-Stephen Colbert

POTD: February 15, 2010, June 20, 2010

The Glorious Bloom State Penguins (NCFAF) 2014: 2-9, 2015: 7-5 (L Pineapple Bowl), 2016: 1-0 (NCFAB) 2014-15: 10-8, 2015-16: 14-5 (SMC Champs, L 1st Round February Frenzy)

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Skimmed it. My quick opinion is that this is better but still not going to get it done. I think the Rams will want more.

This does not detail the expense (they are sticking to the split costs thing, though), but I suspect this is a bit pricier than their last proposal and it more specifically addresses some of the Rams concerns (supposedly).

My belief remains that the Rams will get the CVC to a certain level of commitment and then say "ok, but we really want this extra stuff too, so you pay that, and we'll fund the rest." That's just the way I see it playing out, I think this is a step towards that.

But this does not appear to be a major step forward to me. I don't think this will be close enough to bring about an imminent agreement. It MAY be enough to get the arbiter to side with them. That's unclear. But again, I don't ultimately think the arbiters ruling will be what actually occurs. I think we'll see a better and longer term agreement ultimately occur before construction begins.

This shows continued work and negotiations, but little else in my non-expert opinion.

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I don't blame any fanbase in any city for not showing up for a pre season game. It's a crime that season ticket holders are forced to buy those games at full price, but I think most of them just try to get whatever they can for them, and then just divide the rest of the cost by 8 and just consider it like an extra cost for their regular season ticket. Paying $95 for a ticket (face, probably less on secondary market), then $35 or whatever for parking, $8 for beer, etc., just doesn't make sense to see offenses that aren't running a lot of their real plays, and a lot of guys who won't make the teams. I like to talk about how Jacksonville isn't really a good major-league market partially due to their attendance issues, but if they played a preseason game in an empty stadium, I wouldn't hold that against them at all.

"The views expressed here are mine and do not reflect the official opinion of my employer or the organization through which the Internet was accessed."

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The Jaguars now will step into the Rams place for the London games starting in 2013. It will be for "multiple games." That could be just the other two left in the Rams original agreement, or perhaps more. Evidently, the Jaguars were already very interested in London and were hoping to be one of the teams selected if the league went to multiple games a year there.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/20/report-jags-heading-to-london-for-multiple-games/

Just as with the Rams, this isn't a sign that they're trying to escape, but it's a move that will be under the microscope until situations clear up.

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Just as with the Rams, this isn't a sign that they're trying to escape, but it's a move that will be under the microscope until situations clear up.

Actually, it well could be.

Or it could be a sign that they're trying to explore alternate revenue streams to allow them to stay in Jacksonville.

We don't know either way.

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Preseason football is a disgusting scam and I don't hold anything against anyone who stays away from those crapfests. There are questions as to whether St. Louis can support the NFL and two other pro teams, but they don't involve the stupid preseason.

And yeah of course it's the Jaguars who would step up to claim the veritable bonanza that is handegg in London.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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Just as with the Rams, this isn't a sign that they're trying to escape, but it's a move that will be under the microscope until situations clear up.

Actually, it well could be.

Or it could be a sign that they're trying to explore alternate revenue streams to allow them to stay in Jacksonville.

We don't know either way.

You're right, Goth. That's what I was getting at, but I phrased it one sided. The real point is we don't know what it means, could be either way or a different direction even. If we ever get the answer, it'll be down the line.

As an update, the Jags have announced a 4-year partnership. They, like the Rams before them, claim it's for the good of the franchise and the city. Unlike St. Louis, though, the city of Jacksonville is fully on board with this (publicly--perhaps a key distinction) from the get go. That makes more sense, though, as the city of Jacksonville doesn't really need to negotiate with the Jags--they have a lease--they just need to keep good relationships and help the Jags make money.

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Preseason football is a disgusting scam and I don't hold anything against anyone who stays away from those crapfests. There are questions as to whether St. Louis can support the NFL and two other pro teams, but they don't involve the stupid preseason.

And yeah of course it's the Jaguars who would step up to claim the veritable bonanza that is handegg in London.

I've had Jets season tickets in the family since before I was born. My dad dropped out this winter and so now they're in my name and I bear all the costs, etc for the entire share of our set of 6 (which was 8 up until last season) with 2 other families. I tried to give away the Jets/Giants tickets the other night to just about everyone I could think of, nobody wanted to touch them with a 20 foot pole. Not even people who have never been to the new stadium, are Giant fans to see a "road" game, nobody. I couldn't dump them for $15 on StubHub. They could've seen the freaking defending champions, had a nice night out tailgating and all that.

Nobody could be bothered.

It means nothing.

65caba33-7cfc-417f-ac8e-5eb8cdd12dc9_zps

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  • 4 weeks later...

Phil Anschutz is seriously considering selling AEG and all properties and projects tied to AEG which includes the LA Kings, LA Galaxy, Staples Center, Nokia Theater, as well as pending projects they're either running or a part of for both the Downtown LA NFL Stadium and the Coliseum City proposal in Oakland.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/anschutz-said-to-explore-sale-of-entertainment-group/

Road bump for the projects or possibly complete derailment?

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AEG is so enormous, it makes MLSE look like a mom-and-pop operation. Who could even buy it at this point? I shudder to think.

Well apparently the "considering" is over (or more likely it was just leaked late). AEG and everything it owns is officially on the market.

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-anschutz-aeg-sale-20120918,0,754304.story

This could of course have huge implications for the future of the NFL in LA, or lack thereof more than likely. Which shouldn't shock anyone as AEG's plans have been stalled now for some time since the NFL won't allow a team to be sold to AEG under the conditions AEG wanted to buy one (namely because the NFL doesn't need to cave to demands like AEG was putting out) even if they've been moving forward with other aspects of the project. The LA mayor seems to think things will still pan out, but who knows now. The pundits sure don't think AEG will go to a single buyer. And so far all the ones I've found seem to think at the very least this will delay an LA stadium by several years best case.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/09/aeg-sale-villaraigosa-los-angeles.html

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Preseason football is a disgusting scam and I don't hold anything against anyone who stays away from those crapfests. There are questions as to whether St. Louis can support the NFL and two other pro teams, but they don't involve the stupid preseason.

And yeah of course it's the Jaguars who would step up to claim the veritable bonanza that is handegg in London.

I've had Jets season tickets in the family since before I was born. My dad dropped out this winter and so now they're in my name and I bear all the costs, etc for the entire share of our set of 6 (which was 8 up until last season) with 2 other families. I tried to give away the Jets/Giants tickets the other night to just about everyone I could think of, nobody wanted to touch them with a 20 foot pole. Not even people who have never been to the new stadium, are Giant fans to see a "road" game, nobody. I couldn't dump them for $15 on StubHub. They could've seen the freaking defending champions, had a nice night out tailgating and all that.

Nobody could be bothered.

It means nothing.

But the Giants won the Snoopy Trophy! Hopefully Rex doesn't make them hide it the next time they play and the Jets are the home team.

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