Rams owner announces plans to build stadium in Los Angeles

The St. Louis Rams left Los Angeles two decades ago. New plans by their owner suggest the team could be headed back.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Stan Kroenke, the Rams' owner who built his billion-dollar fortune in real estate, has announced plans to build an NFL stadium and associated supporting retail elements in Inglewood. While a dozen different proposals to build an NFL-sized venue in Los Angeles have come and gone over the last 20 years, Kroenke's effort marks the first time a developer has owned enough land to build both the stadium and associated parking.

That's more, Kroenke and the city of St. Louis are locked in battle over the cost of upgrades to the Edward Jones Dome, a facility that the Rams contend is not competitive in the current NFL arena marketplace. The two sides remain approximately $575 million apart, according to the Times.

The Rams are two-thirds of the way through a 30-year lease at the Dome, but have the option to convert to a year-to-year lease at the end of this month if they deem progress toward renovations unsatisfactory. The city is expected to offer the Rams a proposal in the coming weeks.

A year-to-year lease would give the Rams the ability to move as soon as a temporary agreement could be reached to play at another location, even before a team-specific facility was operational. Both the Falcons and Vikings recently began construction on their new arenas, and those will be open in time for the 2017 season. While the NFL has said no teams will be moving to Los Angeles for 2015, it's worth noting that the 2015 season is only nine months away; a move in 2016 is indeed feasible.

New Los Angeles stadium proposal.

Kroenke's firm, The Kroenke Group, managed to secure the property by joining forces with Stockbridge Capital Group, which owned 238 acres adjacent to Kroenke's 60 in Inglewood. Kroenke has a personal net worth of $5.8 billion; his wife, an heir to the Wal-Mart fortune, has an additional net worth of $5.6 billion. Kroenke's family also owns the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, and is the largest shareholder in the English Premier League's Arsenal.

"We are excited to unveil an expanded plan that will bring a world-class sports and entertainment district to Hollywood Park," Stockbridge Capital's Terry Fancher said in a statement. "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."

The developers say no public tax dollars will be used to support the project, and as the LA Times notes, that gives the NFL itself considerable leverage in deciding which groups can and can't move to Los Angeles. The NFL could offer loans or other enticements, like Super Bowls, to teams looking to move to Los Angeles ... or, more specifically, to threaten to move to Los Angeles in order to secure more favorable deals from their current cities.

In addition to St. Louis, both the Chargers and Raiders have expressed dissatisfaction with their current facilities, and all could be in the mix for a move to Los Angeles.