urbanSTL

Also, I was at the game last night. It was sad to see how much the losing and relocation rumors, have dwindled the fanbase. It is even worse, when you see the highlights from the Greatest Show days. It was sad to see TONS of empty seats and MANY of the occupied seats, occupied by 49ers fans. Think back to that awesome MNF game against Denver back in the Greatest Show days. Now we struggle to get 40K Rams fans on a MNF game. Can you imagine if the Cardinals had a game last night. It might have 20K Rams fans and 15K Niners fans.

We all know how great the fanbase can be, as long as the team is competitive. Over time, as the team solidifies its history here and the loyalty from BOTH sides is solidified, STL will build a fanbase like Cleveland, KC, Pittsburgh and others. We've never been able to build that due to the worst run of losing in NFL history, terrible atmosphere at the Dome and the relocation threat looming. If the Rams can be competitive and commit the STL, with a great new venue, I think the Rams will be a model NFL franchise. I hope this happens.

On a side note, the tribute for the GSOT was lame at best. The Rams always get this wrong. It was SO uneventful. NO lights, no smoke, no nothing. The best part was the bob & weave at the end. Also, Warner did not speak. I can't imagine why the Rams have not honored him and retired that number. The Rams have always gotten tributes wrong. Faulk's was lame too. The Rams just don't really get it, with regards to game-day experience. The Dome and losing makes it that much worse.

I think buried in the best option for the rail line and possible the power station....moving a power station is costly
I believe those tracks are active but they can be tunneled
City jail really isnt an issue, could be a preciption issue if there is a entertainment district around the stadium

The problem is not the venue nor the fans. The problem is a decade of extreme poor play compounded by a noncommittal ownership. I was offered free lower bowl tickets to last nights game but I turned down so I could watch The Walking Dead. I refuse to give any of my hard earned money to a team that's (by silence) threatening to leave.

I'd like to see the Rams season ticket holders and fans get organized. Last night would have been the opportune situation to stage a protest against ownership. Let 50k empty seats do the talking.

^ I noticed the 49er's new stadium, just 2-3 weeks ago, about 60% full in the 3rd quarter. I wonder if attendance is down, up or the same, in the NFL this season. The Niners are very successful and have a great fanbase. It was very nice out that day. No clue what was up with that. I can't recall which game it was.

Looking at the possible location someone mentioned, I'm not sure how much would need to be moved. Also with its location there wouldn't need to be much in the way of parking needed since it would use a lot of the same parking now, but it is removed a ways from metrolink.

On them moving, I have heard there are so many reasons they couldn't due to NFL rules, the stipulations are such Kroneke wouldn't like since it would be contradictory to what he wants, and other teams could move first anyway who have even bigger lease issues that have been going on a lot longer.

Open air stadium between the beautiful Stan Span & casino would be awesome.I personally rather have a open air stadium than retractable roof stadium and i still think if a deal can be/get hammered out St.Louis could host a super bowl as well. Now as far as the dome wonder what the plans are for it if indeed theres a new stadium built? Bad drafts have hurt the Rams and being in the toughest division doesn't help either. Rams have had only 3or4 winning seasons since being here one happened to be a miracle with winning the super bowl. At least we can proudly say we've witness a NFL championship. Tampa is sorta like St.Louis right now. The Bucs are simply not a good team and people just can't stomach going to a game alas like when Baltimore had already scored 38 before halftime.Rams should of never gotten rid or their defensive coordinator last year he had that defense rocking.

dweebe wrote:

dbInSouthCity wrote:I think buried in the best option for the rail line and possible the power station....moving a power station is costly
I believe those tracks are active but they can be tunneled
City jail really isnt an issue, could be a preciption issue if there is a entertainment district around the stadium

In Seattle they have rail tracks that run right next to Safeco Field and Century Link Stadium.

yes but these tracks run down the middle of the rumored site. I guess there are ways to make the stadium fit without relocation or burying but it would limit the stadium placement and views...

^ I'm fine with an open-air stadium, as long as the Dome is redesigned to host other major conventions and events. Maybe if the Rams are out of the Dome, it can be reconfigured and fixed up to the level of cities we compete with.

Also, the new stadium has to be MLS ready as well. I think MLS would be a great addition to St. Louis.

dweebe wrote:Burwell: Efforts under way to keep Rams here

• While a retractable-roofed stadium isn’t out of the question, the open-air stadium proposal seems to be the one that local deal makers think makes the most sense both financially and politically....

These "local deal makers" might be off base with that assumption. Yes, an open air stadium will be cheaper but also will get less use. And didn't Demoff say they would like a world class stadium that can attract NCAA Final Fours? An open air stadium won't do that. Also, if the Rams continue to suck if/when STL gets a new stadium, an open air stadium will not help to attract fans. More expensive seats, cold weather, and a crappy team...who would attend those games besides the corporates in the luxury suites.

DogtownBnR wrote:Also, I was at the game last night. It was sad to see how much the losing and relocation rumors, have dwindled the fanbase. It is even worse, when you see the highlights from the Greatest Show days. It was sad to see TONS of empty seats and MANY of the occupied seats, occupied by 49ers fans. Think back to that awesome MNF game against Denver back in the Greatest Show days. Now we struggle to get 40K Rams fans on a MNF game. Can you imagine if the Cardinals had a game last night. It might have 20K Rams fans and 15K Niners fans.

We all know how great the fanbase can be, as long as the team is competitive. Over time, as the team solidifies its history here and the loyalty from BOTH sides is solidified, STL will build a fanbase like Cleveland, KC, Pittsburgh and others. We've never been able to build that due to the worst run of losing in NFL history, terrible atmosphere at the Dome and the relocation threat looming. If the Rams can be competitive and commit the STL, with a great new venue, I think the Rams will be a model NFL franchise. I hope this happens.

On a side note, the tribute for the GSOT was lame at best. The Rams always get this wrong. It was SO uneventful. NO lights, no smoke, no nothing. The best part was the bob & weave at the end. Also, Warner did not speak. I can't imagine why the Rams have not honored him and retired that number. The Rams have always gotten tributes wrong. Faulk's was lame too. The Rams just don't really get it, with regards to game-day experience. The Dome and losing makes it that much worse.

I watched the Miami Green Bay game Sunday played in Miami. The Green Bay fans were twice as loud as the Miami fans.
I was at the game yesterday too, and I noticed most of the 49er fans standing and cheering the Greatest Show on Turf players at halftime. This shows me that these are likely St. Louisans who follow the 49ers currently, not folks who traveled. Some root for both teams, but now the hot one is 49ers.

gary kreie wrote: I watched the Miami Green Bay game Sunday played in Miami. The Green Bay fans were twice as loud as the Miami fans.
I was at the game yesterday too, and I noticed most of the 49er fans standing and cheering the Greatest Show on Turf players at halftime. This shows me that these are likely St. Louisans who follow the 49ers currently, not folks who traveled. Some root for both teams, but now the hot one is 49ers.

Not really sure how you jump to that conclusion. Remember, the Giants were in town Sunday and it wouldn't be that far fetched to think a traveler from SF would stay an extra night or two and spend pennies on the dollar for a ticket to a Niners game. When I was leaving work yesterday, there were tons of '49er fans already on the streets. I take this to mean they stayed at DT hotels and were making their way to the dome, not that local St. Louisans stayed late at work and then went to the game. (I could be wrong, but it felt like they were out of towners)

(WARNING: Sorry for the long read; I haven't posted here in a long time. I have a lot of thoughts on the Rams, too!)

The 49ers fans were probably a combination of those who traveled to follow the team and locals who support them.

Out-of-towners were more likely to come because (1) it was a Monday night game, (2) St. Louis was an inexpensive getaway for a three or four-day weekend for these people, and (3) tickets for The Ed on Monday night were cheaper than most venues.

(I attended the game against Dallas on September 21, and while there were a lot of local Cowboys fans and bandwagon riders, I also saw a lot of Texas and Oklahoma license plates on cars in and around downtown. So, I think it's a mix for every game.)

Locals who support the 49ers are a combination of people who migrated here from the Bay Area, people who adopted them when the football Cardinals moved to Phoenix, and people who are sick of the Rams being the Official NFC West Doormat. I know of some bandwagon Seahawks fans as well, along with some people who never stopped supporting the Arizona Cardinals.

As a Rams fan since 1995, however, I am worried on multiple fronts.

First, I am extremely dissatisfied with the on-field product. Do you think the Rams will ever offer tickets at half-price? I ask this because the Rams are very good for one half of a football game. Against Dallas and San Francisco, they played well in the first half. Against Philadelphia on their turf, the Rams rolled over and died, only to make a stunning second half comeback that fell short.

It's the same old song, but with a different beat since Linehan and Spagnuolo have been gone. I have had faith in Jeff Fisher all this time, but it is officially gone. Keep in mind that after his Tennessee Titans were the runner-up to the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV, Nashville had to endure a lot of mediocre football, too.

Again, we have draft picks who are being paid to sit on the sidelines and read playbooks that they may never actually put to use. The Rams put all of their faith in a quarterback who's as fragile as Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's Punch-Out on Nintendo. The team is woefully undisciplined, and sometimes racks up as many penalty yards as rushing and/or passing yards. The offensive coordinator lacks creativity, commonsense, and a consistent approach. The team has spent a decade rebuilding an offensive line that's still only as strong as the average shower curtain. Now that there's a promising young quarterback, that woeful O-line doesn't give him the time to execute even though he's much more mobile in the pocket than Bradford ever was in my opinion. Finally, our defense stinks. Our new defensive coordinator, straight from Bountygate in New Orleans, is supposed to be a mastermind. So far, he's just a master bust.

That brings me to my second major concern: the team's future in St. Louis. We don't call Stan Kroenke 'Silent Stan' for nothing. Most media reports suggest the team already has one foot out the St. Louis door. I wonder if guys like Zac Stacy or Greg Zeuerlein or James Laurinaitis know any Southern California realtors? Stan will get little if any public money in SoCal or St. Louis, but he has land and considerable support from the NFL and the corporate community in the former and chirping crickets in the latter place. The only thing that casts doubt on a Rams return to Los Angeles is the possibility that the Raiders and/or Chargers may get there first. In fact, a recent report suggests the Raiders may be willing to trade places with an NFC West team (Seattle, perhaps?) to make a Raiders/Chargers co-tenancy work in a new venue. Maybe that's a sign the NFL won't give up so easily on St. Louis? Could we possibly have a shot at the Jacksonville Jaguars if Silent Stan speaks up long enough to tell us goodbye? Who the hell knows?

For now, all I know is this: If the Rams' recent performances aren't being thrown to wipe out what's left of fan support as a prelude to a return to Los Angeles, they could have fooled me. I don't think that's the case, but this is a serious test of any fan's loyalty. I've never seen a team look so good in one half and absolutely pathetic in the other. Fans here have already endured the worst decade of any team in NFL history. How much more of that can we take? Also, don't we deserve better?

dweebe wrote:Burwell: Efforts under way to keep Rams here
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/ ... d2df2.html

...Clearly what has a lot of local NFL fans spooked are repeated vague media reports and political boasting coming out of LA in recent weeks that suggest the NFL wants two teams there within 12 to 24 months.

Naturally, everyone has the Rams on the short list — mainly because their lease with the Dome expires in January.

Over the past few weeks, I have heard informed local rumblings that tend to mute some of this Rams relocation chatter. In conversations with influential sources who are intimately familiar with the Rams’ stadium situation, they tell an entirely different story from the ones coming out of Los Angeles.

• While Kroenke might be reclusive publicly, he has not been a recluse with the men trying to put together a deal in St. Louis. Rams officials and local negotiators have had a constant dialogue all along, the sources say.

• The silence from local negotiators does not mean they haven’t been working feverishly to put a deal together. According to these sources, that silence could be broken with the completion of next month’s midterm elections. What local negotiators have been working on, and could be prepared to publicly discuss within the next month or so, is a proposal for an open-air stadium along the St. Louis riverfront between the new Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Lumiere Place Casino and Hotels.

• While a retractable-roofed stadium isn’t out of the question, the open-air stadium proposal seems to be the one that local deal makers think makes the most sense both financially and politically....

This is the first time I have heard concrete conversations about what the city and state are trying to do. Up until now, it has been a lot of ambitious gossip and wishful long-range thinking. But now, finally, there seems to be legitimate work being done to secure a long-term NFL future for St. Louis.

What I’m being told is that there is a serious movement locally now to ensure that an impressive NFL stadium will be built in the shadows of the Dome and that city and state officials will not rest until there is a team taking up permanent resident in that new edifice.

Interesting that this is coming from Burwell: someone known for not being very positive or the bearer of good news.

Will be interesting to see if the Rams' buy the open-air idea after supposedly really liking Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium and it's retractable setup.

This is the same area that was talked about back in May, no? From page 117 of this thread:

rbb wrote:

dmelsh wrote:More talk from Randy and 101 espn. Talks about location and money.

An idea has been set forth to offer Kroenke a parcel of land near the Dome and allow him to join with public entities to build there. An area just north of Laclede’s Landing, bounded by 1st street to the east, Broadway to the west, Mullanphy to the north and Cass Street to the south would easily provide enough space for a stadium, with room east of 1st to the riverfront and west of Broadway to I-70 for parking and development.

Area seems a little small to me.

http://www.101sports.com/2014/05/27/opt ... ium-issue/

This is the area on Google Maps.

^ It's about four square blocks, which is roughly the footprint of the current stadium. Of course they'd likely also "need" an adjacent parking garage, which could expand the footprint somewhat. You'd also have to tear down a few historic warehouses (mostly empty today) to make it happen.

It could be an opportunity to renovate the Southwestern Freight Depot building, which would be staring the proposed new stadium in the face. Keep the Rally STL mural on the river-facing side and restore the stadium-facing side and I'd be on board.

-RBB

-RBB

Don't tear down Shady Jack's!

Seems to me there's more room south of downtown by the river, though further from the highways.

It is my opinion that a lot of media types and bloggers, want the Rams in LA, especially LA natives. The fact that a potentially HUGE story like this has not been published beyond Profootballtalk and stltoday, tells me something about the intentions of the media. There have been a TON of articles put out that favor the Rams to LA, that get picked up by a ton of media outlets almost the same day as they come out. I know LA is a bigger media market and news travels fast there, but I definitely think there is a major bias toward LA, regarding this story.