Steinberg Says Ram Group to Focus on Stadium Deal

The co-chairman of Orange County’s Save the Rams task force said Friday there is still a “viable chance” of keeping the football team in Southern California and expressed his frustration over recent reports that the team will be moving to St. Louis.

“There is an unremitting daily stream of false rumors and authoritative sources all testifying of an imminent Rams move to St. Louis,” said Leigh Steinberg, co-chairman of Save the Rams, after meeting with the group’s executive committee Friday.

“This seems almost designed to make people in Orange County lose hope and to weaken the will of business and political leaders who continue to fight for the Rams and to create a sense of inevitability within the league.”

The Rams denied on Wednesday that they have agreed to sell a minority interest in the team to Columbia, Mo., businessman Stan Kroenke, paving the way for a move to St. Louis. Kroenke’s lawyer, Alan Bornstein, said Thursday that the report was “premature.”

Steinberg, a prominent sports agent, said his group’s executive committee also discussed on Friday the concept of building a football stadium--which would be a departure from their current proposal that includes a $60 million renovation of Anaheim Stadium, converting it from multi-purpose to a football-only facility.

“Part of the reasoning runs that if Orange County were to lose the Rams and the Angels were to get a new stadium, Anaheim Stadium becomes a white elephant,” Steinberg said. “What would be required to get a new football team? If the answer to that is a new stadium, it’s better to confront that issue now while the Rams are here, than later.”

During a Nov. 15 meeting with Steinberg, Ram President John Shaw emphasized the team’s desire for a new stadium, although the team has never presented the group with any specific demands, Steinberg said.

“If the Rams were to say that a new stadium would ensure that the team would stay, we certainly would endeavor to see if that is possible,” Steinberg said.

Steinberg said a new stadium might be more attractive to potential investors now that Anaheim officials are seriously studying the possibility of building a lavish sports complex in the area around the existing stadium.

“It all makes more sense in light of what is being conceptualized now as one of the biggest entertainment zones in Southern California,” he said. “That starts to attract private enterprise.”

A new football stadium would cost between $160 million and $200 million. Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly has said the city would consider building one as long as the project would not require ongoing public funding.

Steinberg said groups or individuals who have offered to purchase a minority interest in the team have expressed interest in financing a new stadium, which probably would be built on the same spot as the Big A.

City officials are currently negotiating with the Angels to extend the team’s lease and build them a baseball-only stadium that would most likely be built in the parking lot of the current stadium.

Meanwhile, Save the Rams members are trying to set up a meeting with NFL officials in New York to discuss the league’s possible investment in a new stadium, Steinberg said.

The NFL in October floated the idea of a new Los Angeles-area stadium that would serve as a Super Bowl site on a rotating basis and a possible home for the Rams and Raiders, who are unhappy with the Coliseum. The project would ideally be a joint venture, with league, private and public financing. Part of the construction costs also would be paid for with Super Bowl revenues.

Hollywood Park and Long Beach have been mentioned as possible sites, but Steinberg has been pushing Anaheim Stadium and the Save the Rams’ planned entertainment corridor as another option for the NFL.

Roger Goodell, the NFL’s vice president of business development, said he has had several discussions with Steinberg and that “it’s fair to say we’re serious” about the stadium issue in Los Angeles.

“We’re currently analyzing the financial details and other aspects (of the project),” Goodell said. “We’re not talking about the NFL building a stadium. This would be a public-private partnership, a concept designed around the idea of having a periodic number of Super Bowls and the possibility of having two franchises in Los Angeles.”

Goodell, however, could not say whether the league could act on such a proposal soon enough to keep the Rams in Southern California, and would not say what sites are being explored. The Rams are expected to decide in December whether to move to St. Louis or Baltimore or remain in Orange County.

“From our standpoint, this is a long-term project with respect to renovating and building new facilities for our league,” Goodell said. “The commissioner has a priority of keeping the NFL strong in Los Angeles and addressing the issue of new facilities.”

For now, the Save the Rams group’s current offer stands. This includes the stadium renovation, a $50 million infusion of cash through the purchase of a minority interest in the team, a new $12 million practice facility, sales of 45,000 season tickets and income from approximately 100 luxury boxes.

“Our primary focus will be on reiterating the firmness and viability on each part of our original package,” Steinberg said. “I honestly believe that Orange County has a viable chance to keep the Rams.”

Staff writer Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this story.