ST. LOUIS —
The massive canopy rises from the Los Angeles landscape, providing cover for the spectacular stadium beneath it. The Rams spared no expense in constructing their glorious new home, and they spared no adjective in describing it.
“SoFi Stadium is an unprecedented and unparalleled sports and entertainment destination,” the stadium website declares.
It is the destination for the next Super Bowl, the first in the Southland since 1993, a celebration of America’s most popular sport in America’s capital of creativity.
“We are driven, and our ambition deserves a stage,” the website video trumpets. “That stage is SoFi Stadium … built from the vision of Stan Kroenke
**********************
But what if they should not have come home? What if the NFL relocation process was a sham? What if the NFL did not follow its own rules, and if Kroenke and the Rams rigged the system?
Those are the allegations made in St. Louis, where the Missouri-born Kroenke is considered less of a visionary and more of a rapacious turncoat.
What appeared to be sour grapes from a scorned city four years ago is turning into a nightmare for Kroenke and the NFL, as a longshot lawsuit heads toward trial in January, just in time to steal headlines from the Super Bowl at Kroenke’s showcase stadium Feb. 13.
After a series of pretrial rulings in favor of St. Louis, Kroenke has turned on some of his fellow NFL owners, and on the league itself. His football palace in L.A. cost $5 billion. He might need to come up with another billion, or more, to rid himself of St. Louis.
***
The massive canopy rises from the Los Angeles landscape, providing cover for the spectacular stadium beneath it. The Rams spared no expense in constructing their glorious new home, and they spared no adjective in describing it.
“SoFi Stadium is an unprecedented and unparalleled sports and entertainment destination,” the stadium website declares.
It is the destination for the next Super Bowl, the first in the Southland since 1993, a celebration of America’s most popular sport in America’s capital of creativity.
“We are driven, and our ambition deserves a stage,” the website video trumpets. “That stage is SoFi Stadium … built from the vision of Stan Kroenke
**********************
But what if they should not have come home? What if the NFL relocation process was a sham? What if the NFL did not follow its own rules, and if Kroenke and the Rams rigged the system?
Those are the allegations made in St. Louis, where the Missouri-born Kroenke is considered less of a visionary and more of a rapacious turncoat.
What appeared to be sour grapes from a scorned city four years ago is turning into a nightmare for Kroenke and the NFL, as a longshot lawsuit heads toward trial in January, just in time to steal headlines from the Super Bowl at Kroenke’s showcase stadium Feb. 13.
After a series of pretrial rulings in favor of St. Louis, Kroenke has turned on some of his fellow NFL owners, and on the league itself. His football palace in L.A. cost $5 billion. He might need to come up with another billion, or more, to rid himself of St. Louis.
***
How St. Louis is beating the NFL in court and may win billions after losing the Rams
A favorable judge and a nebulous NFL relocation policy is helping St. Louis beat Stan Kroenke and fellow owners in court over the Rams' move to L.A.
www.latimes.com