In a story that ran on Yahoosports.com on Thursday, a snag has hit in talks between the NFL and Anschutz Entertainment Group, which could mean the terms of a deal that would return the NFL to downtown Los Angeles and plans for a downtown stadium to be built and run by Anschutz Entertainment Group may be dead.
The San Diego Chargers has been one of the teams rumored to be interested in moving to L.A. and there has been speculation that Rams owner Stan Kroenke could move the team back out west if a new agreement can’t be reached with the St. Louis Convention and Visitor’s Bureau on upgrades to the Edward Jones Dome.
The city of St. Louis also won a minor victory earlier this week, when a group headed by Magic Johnson was awarded the Dodgers franchise for a record $2 billion. Kroenke was one of the final three bidders, but Magic’s group quickly won the bid after the initial announcement came out Wednesday that three groups would be headed to auction.
Had Kroenke eventually won a bid to buy the Dodgers, it may have made it easier for him to move his football operations to L.A. as well.
Now, with news of a dead football stadium deal, or at least slow movement, it may give the city of St. Louis time to work with Kroenke and the Rams in finding ways to upgrade the dome to meet NFL top-tier standards.