Fight to Save the Rams Taking a Different Turn : Pro football: With decision to move to St. Louis anticipated, task force will focus on trying to block the team.
The Rams haven’t announced they’re moving to St. Louis, but the decision has become such a foregone conclusion that even the Save the Rams task force has quit trying to persuade the team to stay in Orange County and is now plotting to combat the actual move.
Save the Rams will hold a news conference this morning outside Anaheim Stadium to announce that it believes the Rams are about to sign a lease agreement with St. Louis.
But don’t expect a concession speech from Save the Rams co-chairman Leigh Steinberg, who instead will outline plans to take the fight for the Rams to a forum within the NFL.
“We’re going to give a progress report on where we think the battle goes from here,” said Steinberg, the Newport Beach sports agent whose firm represents 19 NFL quarterbacks. “This is going to be Phase 2.
“The thing I fear is that when the announcement (that the Rams intend to move to St. Louis) comes, there’s going to be so much hoopla that it’s going to be tough to muster a response.”
So Save the Rams will launch something of a preemptive strike today. Steinberg wouldn’t elaborate on plans, but the group is likely to launch an all-out lobbying assault on NFL owners and Commissioner Paul Tagliabue in an effort to secure the eight votes necessary to block the move.
The Rams, if they are to adhere to league guidelines, will need approval from three-fourths of NFL owners (21 of 28) at the March 12-17 league meeting in Phoenix to move to St. Louis.
If owners don’t approve, the Rams would have to file an antitrust suit against the NFL, as the Raiders did before moving from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982, to play in St. Louis next season.
Save the Rams probably will call on a number of political heavyweights, including Gov. Pete Wilson, U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer and former baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth--to convince owners that Orange County can support the Rams and deliver on a package that would make the team financially competitive.
The critical period would be from February to early March, when Tagliabue would review the Rams’ proposal for transfer, which must be submitted to the league 30 days before the Marchmeeting.
The Rams essentially must prove to the league that they can’t survive in Anaheim; that the deal in St. Louis, which includes virtually all revenue from a new 70,000-seat domed stadium, is far superior than the Orange County offer, which includes a renovated stadium, new practice facility and guarantees to purchase 45,000 season tickets and 100 luxury suites.
Save the Rams plans to bombard the league with all the reasons the Rams can make it in Orange County. The group also might consider legal action against the Rams.
“A lot of people are depending on us to carry on the fight, and we want to let them know that even if there is a decision to move, it’s not over until it’s over,” said Wayne Wedin, chairman of the county’s economic development consortium and a Save the Rams member.
Wedin said he felt “very positive” about the group’s chances of getting the Rams’ move blocked within the league.
Why?
“You’ll hear more about that (today),” he said.
