St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams: News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon (Wednesday Edition)
Thanks for taking a few moments to get caught up on the St. Louis Rams via today’s “News, Nuggets and Notes at Noon”, the one-stop location for all major Rams headlines and other relevant items of the day.
As many of you know by the now, the Rams and the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission came to an official agreement for the 2012 “home” game to be held October 28 in London versus the New England Patriots. I shared my analysis on the amended lease and additional background information here.
Yesterday, Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed related topics and much more on the Rams in his weekly chat. He answered a wide array or questions on topics like free agency, the 2012 NFL Draft, Rams uniforms, Steven Jackson and more.
The NFL Combine (February 22 through 28) now takes center stage in St. Louis in every NFL city. For the complete schedule of who will do what when, look here.
Nick Wagoner of stlouisrams.com produced a nice piece related to the combine with eight burning questions that could well be relevant to the Rams in the 2012 NFL Draft. For even more on the NFL combine and how it has evolved over the years, look at this from Tony Softli of 101sports.com.
For the latest top five rankings from Mike Mayock of the NFL Network, open this. Of note, Mayock has the following at the very top for each position:
Quarterback: Andrew Luck (Stanford)
Running Back: Trent Richardson (Alabama)
Wide Receiver: Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State)
Tight End: Orson Charles (Georgia)
Offensive Tackle: Matt Kalil (USC)
Interior Offensive Lineman: David DeCastro (Stanford)
Defensive End: Melvin Ingram (South Carolina)
Defensive Tackle: Michael Brockers (LSU)
Linebacker: Courtney Upshaw (Alabama)
Cornerback: Morris Claiborne (LSU)
Safety: Mark Barron (Alabama)
Finally, please post your questions below or on Twitter for the third edition of the “Weekly Weekend Question and Answer Session” coming Saturday.
Have a great day, STL Rams nation.
Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.
Read more St Louis Rams news on BleacherReport.com
St. Louis Rams: “London Bridge” Now Officially Open for Rams to Host Patriots
The St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission agreed to amend the lease between themselves and the St. Louis Rams, officially allowing the Rams to play a “home” game in London versus the New England Patriots in 2012 at Wembley Stadium on October 28.
Just as Fergie sang a few years ago in her pop hit “London Bridge,” the CVC gave the formal go-ahead for the Rams to play oversees and drive into Wembley Stadium on the “London Bridge” that the famous European city and the NFL laid out for them.
The CVC did not, however, agree to the proposed 2013 and 2014 London “home” games, at least not yet. The CVC retained those games, and they are expected to serve as bargaining chips in the ongoing lease negotiations with the Rams.
As most of you know, the Rams could theoretically leave St. Louis following the 2014 season if an agreement between themselves and the CVC is not reached by the end of this year. Another potential alternative would be to remain in the Gateway City on a year to year lease, like the San Diego Chargers.
When addressing the 2012 London game and the notion that the CVC had lost a bargaining chip, CVC President Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe said “it’s only one year,” emphasizing that the 2013 and 2014 games have not been agreed to yet.
Some Rams fans feel that losing one “home” game away is more than enough and are asking, in their own way, “how come every time I turn around that London, London bridge wanna go down?”
It does seem like a continuing welcome sign has been put up for the Rams to continue to play annually in London and a figurative bridge for the Rams to walk across is open (at least through 2014).
On the other hand, it is only “one year” for now, and could indeed be a mutually beneficial agreement (for the Rams and CVC) when looking at the big picture.
In the immediacy, losing this game it is not pleasurable to St. Louis Rams fans nor beneficial to many downtown businesses, but, in the long-term, many of those same businesses may reap more than they will have lost.
The amended lease gives the CVC the flexibility to add events at the Edward Jones Dome on two weekends per month during the football season in 2013, 2014 and 2015 (whereas only one was allowed before).
After 2015 and through 2025 (assuming an agreement to the lease is ultimately reached), the new arrangement gives the CVC the ability to book the Dome on three total additional weekends in total from August through December while reverting back to operating on the foundation of the one weekend per month setup that has been in place, according to Ratcliffe from this report.
The time of year that the NFL regular season preseason and regular season occurs (August through December) is a very busy time for the convention business, according to Ratcliffe in this report from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
The season has some big months, especially October. It’s a prime convention month for most cities.
Although I agree with the vast majority of St. Louis fans who at least partially dislike some aspects of the 2012 London “home” game or even those who completely hate it altogether, it indeed can serve to expose St. Louis (and the Rams) to an international audience, as Ratcliffe conceded in an interview with Charles Jaco of St. Louis’ KPLR 11:
Well, I think it’s really good for the Rams. They get to play a very high profile event which will have international coverage so it elevates them.
For us, it changes the lease for the remainder of the lease (2025) in such a way that we can book additional business for this community and fill hotel rooms and restaurants and keep taxi cab drivers working and everything else. So, overall its’ a really good deal for everybody.
Ratcliffe also said (according to a press release from explorestlouis.com) that:
I am delighted that we are able to find a mutually beneficial solution to the Rams’ desire to play a regular season home game in London.
St. Louisians will benefit from the arrangements for additional access to the Edward Jones Dome for non-football events which will generate economic activity for hospitality industry businesses for years to come.
As stewards of the public trust placed with the City and the County of St. Louis, it was essential that the agreement provide economic benefit to the region.
An article from the St. Louis Business Journal by Amri Kurtovic shares that Ratcliffe said (while not directly quoting Ratcliffe) the following:
The additional booking dates will be a significant boost to the convention business downtown. The type of conventions that require use of the Edward Jones Dome typically have 10,000 attendants or more. A large convention that uses the Edward Jones Dome can usually bring about $10 million in direct spending.
According to this from kmov.com, the CVC is already looking into potentially adding an event at the EJD on the day the Rams would have hosted the Patriots there.
In exchange for the previously mentioned 2012 London “home” game, the Rams will pay all seasonal hires (such as ushers and ticket takers) the same wages they would have made had the Rams played the Patriots at the EJD.
According to this, it also requires the Rams to host an event similar to the St. Louis Cardinals winter warm up before the opening of the 2012 NFL season.
As for the Rams official response, Vice President of Football Operations and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Demoff stated that:
We are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with the CVC. We believe playing a game in London will serve as a powerful tool to build our fan base regionally, nationally and globally.
This agreement gives the CVC more powerful tools to help entice major events to St. Louis, which parallels our strategy of elevating St. Louis on a global stage.
All in all, it appears that both the Rams and CVC are pleased with the outcome here. Whether we like losing the game or not, it is very important that both parties (Rams/CVC) are able to work together and compromise on certain issues.
Although most of us, again, dislike losing a home game to London, it is nonetheless a good sign (in looking at the bigger picture of the lease negotiations) that the Rams and CVC were able to come to an amicable resolution that both parties agree is beneficial.
That is important going forward.
As Charles Jaco reported in his video piece linked above, the CVC has been “very pleased with the tone and tenor of these negotiations about the London games.” Jaco says the CVC has been impressed with how professional the Rams were amidst the London discussions.
Several members of the CVC have worked cooperatively on events with the Rams away from the Edward Jones Dome, such as in this fundraiser for the March of Dimes where Bob O’Loughlin (CVC chairman and lead negotiator regarding the Rams/CVC lease) and commissioner Kim Tucci played a considerable role.
In addition to O’Loughin and Tucci participating in this event, it was a March of Dimes function. Another member of the CVC’s board of commissioners, Mary Elisabeth Grimes, is the State Director of the Greater Missouri Chapter March of Dimes.
Speaking of O’Loughlin, he is currently working hand in hand with Rams owner Stan Kroenke’s THF Realty in a joint effort to secure St. Louis’ Union Station.
O’Loughlin is the chairman and CEO of Lodging Hospitality Management. It appears that four of the other 10 commissioners are also in the hospitality industry (Todd George, David Robert, Joe Ruggeri and James Smith.
What does that all mean? Well, not necessarily anything. However, it is interesting, regardless, and we can all deduct what we choose from that, if anything.
What I am deducting right now is a spirit of cooperation, forward-thinking and a solid working relationship between the Rams and CVC that can only bode well for the city/region and St. Louis fans everywhere, even with the London game (which most of us do not approve of) being formally agreed to.
As many of you know I (and a much more prominent individual than myself) believe the Rams will remain in St. Louis long-term, as I reported here.
In case you missed the details of the CVC’s initial proposal, feel free to scan this.
Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.
Read more St Louis Rams news on BleacherReport.com
St. Louis Rams: 10 Bold Predictions for Jeff Fisher’s First Season
St. Louis Rams fans have a lot to be excited for in the coming season.
A new general manager will be calling the shots for the next draft. A very reputable and experienced coaching staff has been assembled to oversee games and player development.
The team will start 2012 completely healthy. The schedule will probably be much easier to handle than last year. There will be a lot of new talent coming in through the draft and some additions in free agency.
The Rams have the foundation of a winner in place. There are still needs to be filled and problems to be fixed, but the pieces are there for Jeff Fisher and the Rams to give fans a much better year than expected. Here are some achievements and milestones that the team will accomplish this year.
7 Players the Rams Should Be Watching Closely at the NFL Scouting Combine
With the NFL Scouting Combine taking off this week and ending next Tuesday, coach Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams will finally get a personal look at some of the top athletes entering the draft this April.
After a 2-14 disaster last season, the Rams will search for help at practically every position, which means the scouts will have to spread out and thoroughly analyze each of the 328 players invited to the event.
The NFL Combine will provide everyone with a more in-depth understanding of how various prospects are viewed in the eyes of the NFL.
At this point, mock drafts have basically guessed where various players rank. But now, NFL personnel will shed some light on the reputations of each player.
On top of that, fans will have a chance to watch their favorite college players perform one last time before the draft, allowing all of us to update our wish lists.
But as far as the Rams and their needs, here are seven players to keep an eye on…
St. Louis Rams: Report Says Rams/CVC London Game Agreement Has Been Reached
According to a report from Matthew Hathaway of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the anticipated agreement to amend the St. Louis Rams lease with the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission regarding the Rams home venue (the Edward Jones Dome) has been approved.
Both parties will move forward amicably regarding the 2012 London “home” game versus the New England Patriots (but not for the 2013 or 2014 season).
Both the Rams and the CVC appear to be well satisfied with the agreement going forward. As per the linked article above, CVC president Kathleen “Kitty” Ratcliffe said:
I am delighted that we are able to find a mutually beneficial solution to the Rams’ desire to play a regular season home game in London. It was essential that the agreement provide economic benefit to the region.
As for the Rams response (also via the aforementioned article), St. Louis vice president of football operations and chief operating officer Kevin Demoff stated the following:
We [the Rams] are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement with the CVC. This agreement gives the CVC more powerful tools to help entice major events to St. Louis, which parallels our strategy of elevating St. Louis on a global stage.
It is encouraging to see the Rams and the CVC working together and coming to an agreement that both parties apparently feel comfortable with.
In related news, St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and his company, THF Realty, are working simultaneously and hand-in-hand with Bob O’Laughlin, the chairman of the CVC, to purchase Union Station (a national historic site) which is located in close proximity to the EJD.
As this report states, there could well be some terrific repercussions for the Rams and the city of St. Louis with an enhanced Union Station area.
As for this lease amendment, I will share more details about it tomorrow morning.
The focus now turns to March 1, when the Rams are due to either accept or reject the CVC’s initial proposal regarding proposed upgraded and enhancements to the EJD. All signs point to a rejection of that proposal with a counteroffer coming by May 1.
I, along with others, expect an eventual pro-St. Louis resolution to the lease and a long-term stay for the Rams in the Gateway City.
Shane Gray covers the St. Louis Rams year-round. You are encouraged to check out the rest of his work here and to follow him on Twitter.
Read more St Louis Rams news on BleacherReport.com
