The St. Louis Rams proposed their relocation agenda to the NFL in hopes that they would be chosen out of three teams — the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders being the others — to move to Los Angeles. The NFL owners deliberated on Jan. 12-13 in Houston, and made the decision that the Rams and Chargers will be relocated. Although St. Louis fans do not want their team to move to L.A., many are astounded by the statements made in the proposal that degraded St. Louis in an attempt to get the team moved.
The Rams have developed a plan to build a stadium in Inglewood, California, that has the potential to hold 100,000 fans—which could result in $50 million more in revenue than the plans proposed by both the Chargers and Raiders. As a result, the Rams claim that they would be the best investment economically for the league. The proposal also claims that the city of St. Louis can no longer support three teams, even though the St. Louis Cardinals are highly valued by the MLB and bring in about $3 million annually. The Blues are also raking in the revenue, as the team is estimated to be worth $270 million. When compared to cities of the same size, Pittsburgh; Tampa Bay, Florida; and Cleveland successfully support three teams.
These claims of the inadequacy of the city are not only refuted by facts, but they are also negating the history that the team has had within the city. St. Louis has a dedicated fan base, especially when the team has not had a winning record since 2003. Although the team has had a lack of success over the last few years, tickets are still sold and fans still sit in the stands to cheer on their hometown team. Although it is understandable that the owners and investors of the Rams are looking to move in order to improve the team economically, there is no reason to degrade the city that has supported the team. It is also not wise to burn bridges with the city and the fans when the team has not had a successful past in California, and could potentially be moved back to the Midwest in the future.
The Rams proposal should have built a case without embarrassing the city and its economy. It’s not the fans who choose the starters or decide who gets chosen in the draft. As a result, it is not the fans’ fault that St. Louis is a bad team. In fact, it was the fans who supported the city when the coaching staff and the general manager’s office could not rebuild a team in 15 seasons. Maybe the owners should be asking where they went wrong in their approach instead of blaming the city for their lack of revenue.
