The owner of the St. Louis Rams has announced plans to build a football stadium in the city of Inglewood, California, possibly heralding the return of an NFL team to the Los Angeles metropolitan area for the first time since 1994. While many other proposals for LA football stadiums have been floated, the Los Angeles Times writes that owner Stan Kroenke’s announcement marks “the first time an existing [NFL] team owner has controlled a local site large enough for a stadium and parking.”
While Deadspin writes that in-the-know observers believe the venue has a “legitimate chance” of actually being built, the Rams (who played in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1994) may still stay in Missouri. The plausibility of the LA stadium plan, in fact, gives Kroenke more leverage in negotiations over public financing for improvements to the team’s current St. Louis home, the Edward Jones Dome:
Under their current deal, the Rams can end their 30-year lease a decade early because they have not reached an agreement with St. Louis officials on improvements to the stadium. The sides remain about $575 million apart. St. Louis is expected to offer the team a new proposal by month’s end.
Kroenke’s family also owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, and a stake in the English soccer club Arsenal.
