7-Day Notice to Vacate Rams Park Will Create ‘Hardship,’ Rams Say

The Rams acknowledged Thursday that they have been notified to vacate the premises at Rams Park no later than March 31.

The football team and the city of Anaheim had been trying for months to renegotiate a new lease.

John Shaw, Ram executive vice president, said in a statement that the seven-day notice from the City of Anaheim and the Magnolia School District to vacate the old Juliette Low School would create an “extreme hardship.”

But school district Supt. Paul S. Mercier said the Rams should not be surprised and that the team made its own decision to leave by not signing a lease extension.

“I think anybody who looks at what has gone on over the months of negotiations can hardly characterize this as the poor Rams are being evicted,” Mercier said. “I don’t see this as a difficult IQ test. The Rams say they don’t want to sign the lease. They’re the ones walking away.”

The Rams’ statement did not say whether they would actually leave the facility by March 31. Shaw said he will meet with the team’s attorneys today to discuss options.