Frontiere Would Deal Part of Rams : Pro football: Team’s owner acknowledges policy shift would help in move from Anaheim.

Ram owner Georgia Frontiere said Sunday she is willing to sell part of the team to facilitate a move, a dramatic change from statements she made four months ago.

“Yes, I must say it is,” Frontiere said. “I was really hoping things would work here. When friends and associates asked me earlier about the Rams moving, I told them I was doing my best to keep the team here.

“But now it’s obvious that would financially kill us--unless we come up with something different.”

Frontiere reiterated she will not sell a majority interest in the team and said she is open to taking on a local minority partner if it would help prevent a move.

John Shaw, Ram executive vice president and Frontiere’s top adviser, told her she might have to sell a share of the team to head off possible litigation in a new city. Frontiere, who is approached regularly with offers to buy the Rams, has had no interest in taking on partners--until now.

“It’s something my husband, Carroll (Rosenbloom) believed in,” she said. “He never had partners. He said never buy stock unless you’re on the board or have control of the company. I very seldom use my powers as owner of the Rams, but I like to know I have them.

“But I’m more open-minded now than before. If we do decide to move to another city, both John and I now feel that someone in that city should have a vested interest--a small interest--in the team.”

In an interview, Frontiere confidently answered without objection a series of questions about the team’s future, stating that:

--She has met with representatives of another city, which she would not name, to discuss prospective partners. She has not met with anyone from Baltimore, which is offering to build a $160 million stadium with rent of $1 per game. St. Louis has a similar stadium under construction.

--She denied persistent rumors that the Disney Co. will buy the Rams. She said she had planned to consult with friend Frank Wells, Disney’s president and chief operating officer, but he died April 3, and she now knows no one at Disney.

--She all but ruled out the Rams and Raiders uniting to build a stadium for both teams. She said the teams couldn’t even agree on the staging of a charity game a few years ago.

--She empathizes with fans, who are disappointed with the team’s recent play, but says the numerous entertainment alternatives in the area make it difficult for a football team to survive.

--She is reluctant to be involved in litigation necessitated by a move, but no longer regards it as an insurmountable roadblock.

--She points to the construction of The Pond of Anaheim, and says if Anaheim wants to keep the Rams, city officials will find a way.

--She has been stung by the reaction of some Anaheim city officials, and says it might be the result of frustration from knowing they will not, or cannot, compete to keep the Rams.

--She does not expect taxpayers to subsidize a football team. But it’s business, she says, and Baltimore and St. Louis have shown a willingness to do so, “because they now miss not having football.”

Frontiere says she remains hopeful Anaheim will compete with other cities for the team, but that financial concerns forced her to exercise an escape clause in the team’s Anaheim Stadium lease last week.

The Rams served Anaheim with 15 months’ notice and a $2-million deposit on a $30-million bond used to expand Anaheim Stadium and lure the team here in 1980. The Rams must pay the balance of the bond if they play elsewhere in 1995.

“We didn’t have any choice but to exercise the option, or we would have dropped deeper in the hole,” she said. “I’m aware of our financial situation and the projections for what we’re going to lose, and I should say, that gets your attention.”

The Rams turned a profit of more than $3 million last year, but Frontiere said the team will lose several million this year because of a 13% drop in season-ticket sales, a $2-million loss in radio revenue, a $5-million increase in player payroll and a drop in TV revenue.

“I’m tired of losing (games), really tired of losing,” she said. “I want to win football games, and I have to find the environment or make the environment that’s conducive to winning. It costs money to get good players.”

The Rams paid $9 million recently to sign quarterback Chris Miller for the next three years, and won a bidding war for Dallas pass rusher Jimmie Jones with a $7.7-million contract over three years.

“I’m always inclined to let things go on too long, let things drift,” she said. “I’m reluctant to change . . . I didn’t want to move from Baltimore, I didn’t want to leave Los Angeles and now Anaheim. I’m determined to make things work, but what I’ve probably done is wait too long” to address the Rams’ financial concerns.

“Now I’m going to move in a positive direction whether we stay in Anaheim with a better deal or move elsewhere. At least I’m doing something, making something happen.”

Baltimore is believed to be the leading candidate to secure the Rams, but that might require a legal battle with Redskin owner Jack Kent Cooke, who plans to move his team to nearby Laurel, Md.

“I’d prefer it not come to litigation, but to say that will stop me, I don’t know,” she said.

While other cities seek the Rams, Anaheim officials are yet to offer a competitive proposal.

“It’s painful some of the things that have been said,” Frontiere said. “Maybe part of it is their pride has been hurt. I don’t know if they have the ability to compete with other cities, and maybe their feelings are hurt because they know they can’t compete.

“But I’m not going to bow and scrape to the city, and ask, ‘Why don’t you like me anymore?’ “I know a lot of things are said in the heat of anger, and I’m a good forgetter. I went through this process with Carroll with the move from L.A. to Anaheim and remember all the bad things that were said about him.

“I’m still hopeful things can be worked out with Anaheim, although the city hasn’t done anything. We kept our promise and talked to no one before May 3. You know, I think the fans care more than the city realizes. And the city knows what we need . . . didn’t they just build an arena for the Ducks? I don’t suggest taking money away for something like that, but where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

Shaw has suggested Anaheim’s only hope is to build a new single-purpose, state-of-the art stadium. The Rams believe circumstances at Anaheim Stadium favor the Angels.

“We’re the minor tenant,” Frontiere said.

Attendance has dropped the last four years, when the team has won only 19 of its last 64 games.

“I’m a fan and I’m not happy,” she said. “If fans were really gung-ho for the team, though, win or lose, that might make a difference. It’s that way in some other cities. . . . but there are so many alternatives in Southern California for people. It’s very, very tough.”

And her goals?

“I’m looking for growth,” she said. “It’s like planting corn . . . if you don’t have fertile soil, how is anything going to grow? I’m meeting people. I want to know if I’m going to have a partner, and I want to know if they’re going to be in it for the ego or to win.

“I know how people feel, but what would they do if they were running a business and had a chance to explore different opportunities like this?”