Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ST. LOUIS LENGTH: Medium
The Los Angeles Rams, wooed by one of the most lucrative deals in sports, are leaving bankrupt Orange County for a city that lost its first NFL franchise because of a lack of fan support.
This time around, the city is offering a new domed stadium and incentives that could give the franchise a $20 million annual profit. The Rams were projected to lose $6 million playing in Anaheim during the 1994 season.
``Today is a great day for this community,'' said Freeman Bosley Jr., St.Louis' mayor. ``For the last nine months we have been working around the clock trying to bring NFL football to St.Louis.''
If the league approves, pro football will return for the first time since 1987, when the Cardinals left for Arizona.
Bosley, former Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who headed the FANS Inc. effort to lure the Rams, Rep. Richard Gephardt, D.-Mo., and other officials then signed an oversized ``relocation agreement.''
When Rams owner Georgia Frontiere, who grew up in St.Louis, took the microphone, she was met with cheers and applause.
``I'm overwhelmed,'' she said. ``I don't think I've been this happy since the last game we won.''
Frontiere said she planned to meet with each player and their families and said she knew they would be anxious to move.
The deal also calls for Stan Kroenke, a Missouri businessman, to purchase part of the team.
The city assembled the ultimate care package to lure the Rams, who were 4-12 during the 1994 season. It includes a potential of $20 million in annual profits. The Rams will get a $260 million domed stadium to play in, a $15 million practice facility to prepare in and a $250,000 annual lease that won't cut into profits. The city is retiring the Rams' $30 million debt to Anaheim, Calif., and paying $15 million in assorted relocation fees.
Not everybody is happy about the deal.
``Look at the loot they're going to get,'' said Tom Sullivan, who heads the Campaign For Better Government in St. Louis. ``The Rams are getting all the revenue, and taxpayers are picking up all of the cost.''
Sullivan said he has been told by Jerry Clinton, a beer distributor who headed the city's expansion efforts, that the lease is worth $30 million a year over 30 years.
The Rams have agreed to play for the first month of the 1995 season at Busch Stadium. The domed stadium is due to be completed around Oct. 25.
by CNB