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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 23:52:46 GMT -5
The Chargers could be next.
The Rams--and the Chargers, if they come to a deal--will pay a whopping $550 million relocation fee. Gee, one might think that money could have been used toward a new stadium or renovations in their existing cities. The shotgun marriage between professional sports franchises and U.S. cities continues. |
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jan 13, 2016 12:33:06 GMT -5
Evidently a big part of it is the rising cost of stadiums, and the NFL's belief that municipalities should underwrite the wealthy team owners, despite studies showing that stadiums don't really add much fuel to the local economic engine. This is more or less equivalent to Goodyear telling a town they'll build a plant there - but the townspeople have to pay for the plant, which Goodyear would then own. Except not as good, since studies have shown that stadia do not add that much fuel to the local economic engine. St. Louis balked, and off go the Rams. While I am sure the Rams fans in St. Louis are unhappy about this, and I feel bad for them - what the politicians did was fiscally responsible. The wealthy owners and managers of the NFL, and the fact that they have their hands out for corporate welfare on this scale, disgust me.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 13:30:16 GMT -5
It's basically the same script every time a franchise gets a case of wanderlust.
A team owner cries poor and demands a new stadium, either partially or completely subsidized by public funds. If a deal isn't reached, the team will relocate. Studies are then drawn up demonstrating the wonderful economic benefits that such a new shrine would bring. Finally, after months or even years of political posturing, the ransom--a new stadium--is paid, either in the team's existing city or in a new one.
What I don't understand is a domed stadium being built in Southern California, in an area which averages less than 15 inches of precipitation per year. Are droughts considered inclement weather? |
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Post by Ravenchamp on Jan 13, 2016 14:26:41 GMT -5
wonder how St Louis feels, we know the pain here all too well
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Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2016 15:55:55 GMT -5
wonder how St Louis feels, we know the pain here all too well Rams owner Stan Groenke stated that St. Louis fans aren't passionate enough about professional sports. The irony is that Enos Stanley Groenke is named after two St. Louis sports icons--Enos "Country" Slaughter and Stan Musial. But I think it also illustrates that St. Louis is a baseball town, first and foremost. The Rams were just a St. Louis team; the Cardinals are a St. Louis institution. |
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jan 13, 2016 19:44:04 GMT -5
Rams owner Stan Groenke stated that St. Louis fans aren't passionate enough about professional sports. Translation: when I held out my hand, they refused to pour money into it. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2016 0:03:34 GMT -5
This business will eventually wind up in the Sweetheart Deal Hall of Fame.
The NFL basically gave the rich guy (Stan Kroenke) everything he wanted because he's the only one of the three owners in question who could just write the check. A $550 million fee just for relocating? No problem. Another $1.3 billion for this sports palace in Inglewood? What time can the backhoes and earth movers get here? Neither Dean Spanos nor Mark Davis is in that type of position.
The Chargers and Raiders win, too, because at the very least, they'll receive $100 million in funding from their existing cities to assist with new publicly funded stadiums. The Chargers have a year to decide whether to join Kroenke in his new California digs (although I can't imagine them waiting that long; good luck with season tickets as lame ducks), and if they demur, the Raiders are extended the same courtesy. With any luck, the NFL could have three new stadiums for a measly $200 million, and all of them in warm-weather, Super Bowl ready climates. What's not to like if you're the NFL? |
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Post by Ravenchamp on Jan 14, 2016 14:36:10 GMT -5
Rams owner Stan Groenke stated that St. Louis fans aren't passionate enough about professional sports. Translation: when I held out my hand, they refused to pour money into it. Aka A CERTAIN COLTS OWNER IN 1983 |
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Post by Evil Yoda on Jan 14, 2016 15:22:57 GMT -5
Translation: when I held out my hand, they refused to pour money into it. Aka A CERTAIN COLTS OWNER IN 1983 That situation was a little more complicated, but essentially, yes, this describes Irsay. |
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