Goodell says Rams' fans shouldn't overreact to Kroenke land deal
Although St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke purchased 60 acres of land in Los Angeles, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says Rams fans shouldn't overreact.
“Stan is a very successful developer,” Goodell said during his Super Bowl press conference.“He has billions of dollars of projects that are going on around the country in real estate development. So I think instead of overreacting, we should make sure we do what’s necessary to continue to support the team locally as the fans have done in St. Louis. And make sure we do whatever we can to make sure that team is successful in the St. Louis market.”
Under NFL policy, Kroenke was required to tell the NFL about the land purchase. And he did so, according to Goodell.
“He has kept us informed of it; we’re aware of it,” Goodell said. “There are no plans to my knowledge of a stadium development. Anything that would require any kind of stadium development requires multiple votes of the membership.
“At the end of the day, any team that potentially could relocate into Los Angeles, or any other market, is subject to three-quarters vote. So 24 voters (out of 32 owners) have to approve any relocation and any stadium development.”
The Rams' stadium deal expires after the 2014 season. No deal for a new or refurbished stadium is in sight.
“I think there’s been quite a bit of activity,” Goodell said. “You know better than I do, but there’s been a lot of discussions about the lease, about the future of the dome, and how that will play into the future of the team. Active negotiations, I don’t know if I’d put it in that category. But there has been a lot of discussion.”
Kroenke's organization issued a statement confirming the land purchase.
“While we can confirm media reports that we recently purchased land in Inglewood, as a private company we don’t typically discuss our plans for commercial or residential investments," the statement said. "We have yet to decide what we are going to do with the property but we will look at all options, as we do with all of our properties.”
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Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun
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This story originally appeared on Nationalfootballpost.com
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