As the next ownership meeting looms, it’s likely that plenty of official and unofficial discussions will be occurring regarding the NFL’s return to Los Angeles. Presumably, Rams owner Stan Kroenke will break character and actually say something.
Recently, team COO Kevin Demoff addressed Kroenke’s strategic decision to say nothing about the future location of the franchise.
“They want to hear Stan speak, but they want to hear what they want to hear,” Demoff said at a recent Washington University panel on the business of sports, according to Brian Feldt of the St. Louis Business Journal. “If Stan said he will let the process play out, well, people would rather hear him say he’s committed to St. Louis. Honestly, Stan wants to go through the process.”
Still, Demoff acknowledges that the silence -- and the ensuing uncertainty -- has done damage.
“There are so many fans who I feel like we are letting down no matter what the outcome is because they feel differently today [about the team] than they did a year ago, and we feel responsible for that,” Demoff said.
They may feel even more differently a year from now, especially if the Rams move out of St. Louis. That’s hardly a lock. As PFT reported last week, a group of owners (including Panthers owner Jerry Richardson) are actively opposing Kroenke’s effort to relocate to L.A., supporting instead the Chargers-Raiders proposal in Carson. Or, ultimately, only the Chargers.
Silence or not, the calendar is creeping closer to the moment of truth for 2016. Part of the political maneuvering this week could entail pushing the decision back a year, given the perception that this could help Kroenke ultimately prove that: (1) St. Louis doesn’t have a viable plan for building a stadium; and (2) San Diego does.