Inglewood City Council Approves Stadium Backed by Kroenke

[Discuss Thrower]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>INGLEWOOD, Calif. (<a href="https://twitter.com/AP">@AP</a>) - City Council approves construction of Los Angeles-area stadium backed by St. Louis Rams owner</p>&mdash; Michael Rusch (@weeddude) <a href="https://twitter.com/weeddude/status/570481782832930816">February 25, 2015</a></blockquote>
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[Eleazar]

http://themcchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/colorado-state-rams-fan-sad.png

[Chief_For_Life58]

k

[Eleazar]

I know the Chargers and Raiders are trying to leverage this situation to get their own stadium, but what Kroenke should probably do is to get one of those teams to join him in his new stadium.

If he can put two teams in Inglewood then he will surely get to rescue his team from St. Louis, and the bonus would be that one of our division rivals would get hosed.

[Eleazar]

Also - serious question. Does anyone in St. Louis care?

[DaneMcCloud]

I know the Chargers and Raiders are trying to leverage this situation to get their own stadium, but what Kroenke should probably do is to get one of those teams to join him in his new stadium.


I disagree.

The Rams should be totally separate from any other team. They were successful from 1950-1980 in Los Angeles and the people of the city will welcome them back with open arms.

The Raiders, on the other hand, no. Plus, Goodell has already stated that a Mark Davis owned Raiders team will not exist in Los Angeles.

The Raiders best bet is to partner up with the 49ers, not the Rams.

[ModSocks]

Things are finally moving in San Diego, and the county has proposed a billion dollar loan that would be paid back via new taxes and construction that would be built around the stadium, meaning no out of pocket money from the public.

Im not sure how that works, but it's what was proposed.

As far as location goes, it looks like it's going to have to be built where Qualcomm currently is.

[Jimmya]

Bye Rams

[ChiefsCountry]

I think the NFL is in a pickle with this one. From the NFL own rules on relocation, I think they would have a tough time allowing the Rams to move with a viable new stadium option in St. Louis on board. But Kroenke building the stadium on one of the NFL's sites for a stadium along with having the money to do it by himself is what they want. But then again he has pissed many of the owners off by the double market ownership.

From what the St. Louis and national media have said about the Raiders is the NFL doesn't mind them being the second team for LA, they just don't want them to be the only team in LA.

[alpha_omega]

St. Louis Raiders? That would be great...everything i hate in one team name.

[Discuss Thrower]

Give it three to five years and the Rams and the Raiders will be sharing a stadium in LA. Bank on it.

[In58men]

NOT

A

SINGLE

FUCK

WAS

GIVEN

[DaneMcCloud]

I think the NFL is in a pickle with this one. From the NFL own rules on relocation, I think they would have a tough time allowing the Rams to move with a viable new stadium option in St. Louis on board. But Kroenke building the stadium on one of the NFL's sites for a stadium along with having the money to do it by himself is what they want. But then again he has pissed many of the owners off by the double market ownership.

From what the St. Louis and national media have said about the Raiders is the NFL doesn't mind them being the second team for LA, they just don't want them to be the only team in LA.

With tens of billions of dollars of redevelopment in Hollywood, Downtown LA and even the USC campus, I've been told by politicians and business owners that the city wants nothing to do with the Raiders and their fans.

These people believe that the Raiders in Los Angeles will lead to ten times the amount of violence and cite the Brian Stow beating as proof.

I haven't spoken to him personally about it but it's my understanding that with the Rams returning to SoCal, Garcetti would rebuff the return of the Raiders.

[DaneMcCloud]

Give it three to five years and the Rams and the Raiders will be sharing a stadium in LA. Bank on it.

Nope

[Eleazar]

I disagree.

The Rams should be totally separate from any other team. They were successful from 1950-1980 in Los Angeles and the people of the city will welcome them back with open arms.

The Raiders, on the other hand, no. Plus, Goodell has already stated that a Mark Davis owned Raiders team will not exist in Los Angeles.

The Raiders best bet is to partner up with the 49ers, not the Rams.

Well, you know LA much better than any of us do - why were the Rams suffering in the 80s when they relocated?

[Pitt Gorilla]

Kroenke is a genius.

[ChiefsCountry]

Well, you know LA much better than any of us do - why were the Rams suffering in the 80s when they relocated?

Georgia Frontiere is a cunt and Anaheim Stadium was a dump.

[Lex Luthor]

Well, you know LA much better than any of us do - why were the Rams suffering in the 80s when they relocated?

Were they really suffering, or was it simply a case of a gold digging Georgia Frontiere inheriting the team and moving it to her home town?

[DaneMcCloud]

Well, you know LA much better than any of us do - why were the Rams suffering in the 80s when they relocated?

I need to put this in a notepad and copy and paste it when these questions arise. :D

The Rams weren't suffering at all. They had sold out the Coliseum for nearly 30 years and appeared in the 1979 Super Bowl. Fandom was at an all time high.

Whether you believe the "official" version of events or the rumors that have been floating around for more than 30 years, the bottom line is that Carroll Rosenbloom, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams after swapping franchises with Robert Irsay, was found dead. Some people think Georgia killed him because he had suspicious wounds and was an excellent diver.

Anyway, she was secretly negotiating a deal with the city of Anaheim and suddenly announced they were moving. The players, coaches, trainers and city had no idea. They had a great run in the 80's and had it not been for the 49ers, likely would have had a few more Super Bowl appearances.

By the early 90's, Anaheim's stadium was in need of repair and expansion. The Rams had begun sliding on field and interest was waning. Georgia Frontiere once again began negotiating a move, this time with her hometown of St. Louis. She wiggled her way out of the Anaheim lease and moved the team.

There are still tons of Rams fans in Los Angeles. They're generally in their 40's or later but there's still a lot of support. A $2 Billion dollar stadium with shopping, a giant swimming pool and a state of the art facility on the west side would be a slam dunk. Maybe not as much as Downtown but it'll definitely fly.

[ChiefsCountry]

Somebody really needs to write a book or do a 30 for 30 on the 1993 NFL Expansion. How much craziness and behind the scene stuff went off is just unreal. Then throw in how hungry those cities that lost out where to get teams back in St. Louis and Baltimore. Quite the chess match. It also makes total sense why Jacksonville got the 30th franchise if you know the backstory behind St. Louis and Baltimore's bids.

[DaneMcCloud]

Somebody really needs to write a book or do a 30 for 30 on the 1993 NFL Expansion. How much craziness and behind the scene stuff went off is just unreal. Then throw in how hungry those cities that lost out where to get teams back in St. Louis and Baltimore. Quite the chess match. It also makes total sense why Jacksonville got the 30th franchise if you know the backstory behind St. Louis and Baltimore's bids.

It would be cool but as long as ESPN is a corporate partner of the NFL's, I doubt it'll happen.

[Captain Obvious]

Inglewood....Inglewood always up to no good...

[Jakemall]

In breaking news, Stan Kroenke is working out a deal with Clark Hunt a majority share of the rights to the Inglewood property located in Southern California.


I keed, I keed.

[Discuss Thrower]

Inglewood....Inglewood always up to no good...
Even Hollywood is trying to get a piece baby

[Baby Lee]

Also - serious question. Does anyone in St. Louis care?

So long as the Cardinals play baseball, I don't think St. Louis cares about anything anywhere in sports.

SLU, Illinois, SIUC, Rams, Blues, Soccer, meh, meh, meh.

[tk13]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/nfl/la-sp-nfl-stadium-inglewood-20150322-column.html

Stan Kroenke won't be empty handed this week when he arrives at the NFL owners meetings in Arizona.

The St. Louis Rams owner will be packing finished schematic plans for the world's most interactive and integrated football stadium, a futuristic, $1.86-billion, privately financed venue proposed for the Hollywood Park site in Inglewood.

Kroenke is not quite ready to put a shovel in the ground, but the major pieces of the project are now fully drawn, allowing the global sports and real estate billionaire to show the small army of architects and engineers at his disposal have made significant progress.

Representatives of Kroenke and HKS, the architecture firm he's employed, met with the Los Angeles Times recently in San Francisco to provide a first look at the detailed plans.

The timing of the meeting — days before the NFL convenes Monday at the Arizona Biltmore resort — wasn't coincidental. The league's owners will ultimately decide when and where the nation's No. 1 sport returns to its No. 2 market.

The San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders entered the running last month, announcing a joint proposal to build a stadium in Carson. Kroenke hasn't said he plans to move the Rams, but his intentions seem clear — analysts say it's highly doubtful he would invest in a stadium and not use it for his own team.

Any NFL franchise that wants to move would need the support of three-quarters of the league's 32 owners in a vote. It's unlikely any such vote will take place before the fall, as St. Louis, San Diego and Oakland continue trying to convince their teams to stay put. The league has already said no team would be allowed to move before next season.

The latest renderings show a light metallic, wave-shaped structure featuring a roof that encompasses the stadium and a surrounding plaza, providing weather protection but remaining open on the sides. The stadium could host big indoor events such as a college basketball Final Four.

The roof has metal borders, but the area over the playing field is made of a transparent material called ETFE, which is as clear as a car windshield and strong enough to support the weight of a vehicle. The design allows for breezes to flow through the building, enhancing the outdoor feel.

"This stadium grows out of the DNA of the region," said Mark Williams, director of sports and entertainment business development for HKS, which designed AT&T Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys and Lucas Oil Stadium for the Indianapolis Colts.

While the roof of the Inglewood stadium would be 275 feet above the playing field, the building would be set into the ground, giving it an above-ground profile of 175 feet, considerably lower than most enclosed stadiums. The proposed venue conforms to the height restrictions imposed on buildings within close proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, and the stadium designers say it also makes for a more attractive neighbor.

"So many stadiums are a big building that's out in a field somewhere," said Chris Meany, senior vice president of the Hollywood Park Land Co. "Very few have been integrated into the community."

Los Angeles has seen impressive renderings before, but hasn't had an NFL football team since 1994. Over the last two decades, several developers have unveiled all kinds of dazzling drawings and slick video presentations of venues that never came to pass.

What makes Kroenke different is that he is an NFL owner, and the league's second-richest owner at that. His team also has a deep and nostalgic connection to L.A., and he — along with development partner San Francisco-based Stockbridge Capital Group — has nearly 300 acres of prime stadium land the league itself tried to buy.

HKS estimates the Inglewood project would take less than three years to build, and the first round of construction permits could be obtained by December. Any team relocating here probably would play at the Coliseum or Rose Bowl during the building process.

HKS and its consultants are moving into the design development and construction documentation stages of the project. In essence, the group has basic designs in place, including the various building components such as plumbing and air conditioning, and is now onto developing the detailed building plans.

Why does a Southern California stadium need a roof? Aside from the fact an enclosed venue can play host to a wider range of events, a covering gives Kroenke the ability to create the world's biggest billboard, one visible to the more than 35 million travelers who fly into and out of L.A. each year. Images or animations could be projected onto the roof, instead of being permanent fixtures. Plans call for a sail-shaped roof structure that's twice as big as the stadium and shelters the football field, the adjacent 6,000-seat performing arts venue and the "Champions Plaza" in between. HKS is studying perforated metal panels and the mottled shadow patterns those cast on the ground like sunlight through a tree. The playing surface would be artificial turf.

[Eleazar]

Sounds like the Lambs moving is already a done deal

[Discuss Thrower]

I forsee butthurt emanating from the Riverfront

[DaneMcCloud]

Sounds like the Lambs moving is already a done deal

It's been a done deal since Kroenke bought the remaining shares from the Rosenbloom heirs.

It was always just a matter of time.

[TinyEvel]

L.A. Is in the NFLs version of the friendzone. Always thinking there's a chance to hook up, always hoping, always working towards it. But not gonna happen.

[Eleazar]

I forsee butthurt emanating from the Riverfront

From the dozen or so die-hard Rams fans

[Rausch]

St. Louis Raiders? That would be great...everything i hate in one team name.

Ditto.

It was like Manning going to Denver.

No playoff win would be satisfying without beating Manning/Denver anyway.

We would get to crush the Raiders, St Louis, AND basically get 2 extra home games a year...

[TimBone]

Rausch, how much longer are you stuck with that sig?

[Rausch]

Rausch, how much longer are you stuck with that sig?

My bet was for the offseason...

[Mojo Rising]

L.A. Is in the NFLs version of the friendzone. Always thinking there's a chance to hook up, always hoping, always working towards it. But not gonna happen.

If Kroenke is seeking NFL approval this early in the year then he is serious. Usually if they are bluffing they time it where there won't be a lame duck season. I think he moves with or without the NFL blessing.

Oakland just revised their plan to be smaller. The issue was that the original plan required City and County investment. The land around the stadium is worth enough to a developer that they could grease enough palms to make it happen in such a dysfunctional city.

The Warriors will be leaving soon. With a new Baseball Commish, if Oakland doesn't get their act together then MLB could allow the A's to move to San Jose. The pressure is on and Oakland has a new MILF Mayor.

The Chargers seem to have lost the political battle with the Tourism board and now their only option is renovating the Q. No chance at a downtown stadium. They could sell out a smaller stadium and avoid blackouts.