Rams to Sign 10-Year Lease on Practice Site

Facing the specter of a court eviction, the Los Angeles Rams said Friday they were reluctantly agreeing to extend the lease for the team’s practice facility.

The agreement marks an abrupt reversal in the team’s position and ends months of contentious negotiations, which have come to symbolize the turmoil between the Rams and Anaheim that heightened speculation the team is prepared to move to another city.

“We’re basically accepting a deal that we felt was unacceptable,” said John Shaw, executive vice president for the Rams. He said he planned to sign the 10-year lease late Friday night.

Ram and city officials have been at loggerheads over the terms of the lease extension since the team’s lease expired Dec. 31.

Councilman Bob D. Simpson said he was “just glad that we can finally put this issue aside and move on to the greater issue at hand of trying to keep the team here.”

The Rams’ concession on the lease came amid eviction proceedings that were being pursued by the owner of the practice site, the Magnolia School District. Under a complicated arrangement, the city leases the property from the district and then sublets it to the team.

School officials said Friday they were pleased that the protracted negotiations seemed to be settled, but they didn’t want to get too excited until the deal is signed by the Rams and formally approved by the City Council at its Tuesday meeting.

“I don’t want to get overly enthused,” said Paul S. Mercier, the superintendent for Magnolia School District. “This is good news and it’s very encouraging, but I’ll feel better when I see the signed papers. I want to be cautious. We’ve been through so much over this.”

If all goes well, and the deal is ultimately approved, district officials said they would drop the eviction lawsuit.

“It would be nice if I can put this issue behind me and get on with educational issues,” Mercier added.

Although dissatisfied with the terms of the lease extension, the Rams also will be able to put the negotiations behind them and focus on two upcoming events critical to the team’s success on the field: the annual draft of college players scheduled April 24-25 and the first mini-camp workouts April 28-May 4.

Conducting either without a fixed home base would have been difficult at best for a team that is trying to rebound from four consecutive losing seasons and hoping to compete well enough to maintain a fan base during what could be seen as a lame-duck season.

Team officials Friday declined to say why they had reversed their position on the lease, which has five-year extension option.

Throughout the months of negotiations, city and district officials were stunned at the demands the team was making for the lease extension, especially since team officials openly admitted they are exploring the possibility of moving the franchise to a city with greater financial opportunities. Shaw has said he will exercise an escape clause in the team’s stadium lease May 3.

City Attorney Jack L. White said he was perplexed by the Rams’ reluctance to sign the lease extension because, in his view, the team had greatly improved it position over the previous lease.

Under the lease extension, the city would subsidize about $3 million of the team’s rent over the course of 10 years. The team would be able to break the lease at any time provided it gives at least six months’ notice, pays $220,000 and restores the practice site to its original condition. The city has agreed to pay about half of the estimated $1.2 to $1.5 million in restoration costs.

It was the issue of the restoration costs and the penalty for breaking the lease that held up negotiations. Three times, the district set deadlines for the team to sign the lease or face eviction. Finally, on the third time, the district was unwilling to give the team any more time to negotiate.

City and school officials, however, said they thought the clauses were extremely fair, especially since the team was obligated to pay all restoration costs under the previous lease.

On Friday, the Rams yielded on the issues of restoration costs and the penalty to terminate the lease. Shaw, however, was not pleased.

“There was no renegotiation of any of the terms,” he said.

Shaw has also complained that the team’s practice facility of 15 years is too old and needed to be improved. He said the city reneged on a pledge to spend $7 million on improvements. City officials contend that such a promise was never made.

Times Staff Writer Mike Reilley contributed to this report.