Stan Kroenke, the owner of the St. Louis Rams, announced Monday that he plans to build an NFL stadium in Inglewood, a suburb of Los Angeles.
A year ago Kroenke purchased 60 acres of land that is adjacent to Hollywood Park and the Forum, a music venue that formerly served as the home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings. He has partnered with Stockbridge Capital Group, who are the owners of the 238-acre Hollywood Park site, to construct an 80,000-seat stadium and a 6,000-seat performance venue in addition to the firm’s development of retail, office, hotel and residential space in that area. No tax dollars will be needed to fund the project.
“We are excited to unveil an expanded plan that will bring a world-class sports and entertainment district to Hollywood Park,” Terry Fancher, founder of Stockbridge Capital Group, told the Los Angeles Times. “We are committed to working with [the Kroenke Group] to build a project that will put Inglewood back on the map as home of the truly great sports and entertainment venues.”
Kroenke hopes to gather enough signatures for the project to be on the Inglewood municipal ballot in 2015.
Los Angeles has not had an NFL team since the Raiders left the city in 1994. The Rams previously called the city home from 1946 to 1994 before moving to St. Louis.
The Rams are unsatisfied with their current stadium, Edward Jones Dome, which is considered to be outdated compared to other stadiums. The Los Angeles Times reports that the franchise and the city are $575 million apart on stadium improvements. The news of Kroenke’s plan to relocate the team to Los Angeles will give him more negotiating power over the city of St. Louis, which is expected to offer a new proposal by the end of the month.
The NFL released the following statement in response to Kroenke’s announcement:
“No team has applied for relocation and there will be no team relocations for the 2015 season. We are committed to working towards having franchises that are strong and successful in their existing markets. Any decision on relocation in 2016 or later is subject to approval by the 32 clubs. An affirmative vote by 24 of 32 clubs (three-fourths) is required.”
The team could relocate as early as 2016, but would likely have to play a few years at the Rose Bowl or the Los Angeles Coliseum until the new stadium’s construction is finished.
