Status of Rams Park Remains Uncertain

Seattle Seahawk owner Ken Behring’s decision to leave the Rams Park practice facility by April 1 is forcing the Magnolia Elementary School District to decide how long to keep the site available for a professional football team.

“Now that this is on hold, we’re not sure it will even work in the future,” district Supt. Paul Mercier said Wednesday. “It may be a situation where if the Seahawks thing is being tied up, we can’t wait anymore.”

The school district’s Board of Trustees will meet Tuesday to discuss the matter. The district has about 6,000 students and is growing at 5% a year. The site will eventually have to be used as a school again, Mercier said.

The Anaheim City Council had been scheduled this week to approve a short-term lease agreement for the facility as well as a $1-million settlement on renovations but tabled the matter because of the Seahawks’ imminent departure.

Under the settlement, the St. Louis Rams, who used the facility from 1979 until last year, would have paid $576,577 with the city paying $423,422. The district estimates renovation costs at more than $1 million but settled on a lower figure because of rent expected from the Seahawks.