When it was first announced that Rams minority owner Stan Kroenke has exercised his right of first refusal regarding the purchase of the 60-percent slice of the franchise that he doesn’t currently own, the first thought was that the Missouri native would keep the team in St. Louis beyond the possible 2015 escape hatch. Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch noticed, however, the Kroenke’s statement didn’t mention anything about the place the team has called home since moving from Los Angeles in 1995.
Now, amid reports that Tim Leiweke of AEG and Casey Wasserman are exploring the possibility of building a stadium adjacent to Staples Center, Howard Balzer of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reports that Kroenke is a member of the NFL’s Los Angeles Stadium Working Group committee.
Writes Balzer: “Everyone I mentioned that to Thursday was silent for a few seconds, and then said, ‘Oh, my God.’”
At best for St. Louis, Kroenke is positioned to exert something much stronger leverage to get an acceptable stadium there. At worst, he’s prepared to load up the truck and move (back) to Beverleeeeee.