The Los Angeles Rams managed to open up SoFi Stadium in style by finishing the 2020 NFL season with a 10-6 record and a trip to the NFC divisional round.
Although it was somewhat sullied by the restrictions due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Rams officially ushered in a new era at their stadium in Inglewood. They have once again made efforts to up the team’s star power with the acquisition of Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Unfortunately, the departure to Los Angeles is still not sitting well with the city of St. Louis. As a result, they are continuing to seek restitution for the move.
According to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, the team’s previous host city are looking for more than $1 billion in compensation:
“The plaintiffs are seeking a billion dollars in damages or more,” said Gerard “Jerry” Carmody, attorney for the NFL during the hearing in the St. Louis Circuit court, later adding, “for people who are seeking billions of dollars, I think I heard four times.”
One of the lawyers elaborated on all that went into calculating the damages:
“Our experts’ disclosures for damages are definitely forward-looking and not backward-looking,” said Jim Bennett, a lawyer for St. Louis during the hearing. “Our damages relate to the violation of the relocation policy. The move, the relocation fee, the minimum increase in value to Mr. Kroenke, the minimum increase in value to all the other teams or defendants, the minimum increase in value to Mr. Kroenke’s real estate empire, expenses that we incur based on their representations that they might actually think about the new stadium.”
St. Louis is arguing that the Rams did not make a concerted effort to stick around after the city had approved $150 million in financing for a new stadium. Instead, team owner Stan Kroenke paid a $645 million relocation fee to the NFL in order to kickstart his plan.
Kroenke’s decision continues to pay huge dividends with the team’s value jumping from $1.45 billion to $4 billion since the move. Despite being five seasons removed from the relocation, it seems his previous business partners are holding out hope for a significant cut of the return on his investment.
Kroenke’s vision has now come to fruition with the construction of the NFL’s most expensive stadium at $5 billion. Among the notable depositions for team owners scheduled to take place in the upcoming weeks include New England Patriots’ Bob Kraft, Kansas City Chiefs’ Clark Hunt, and Dallas Cowboys’ Jerry Jones, who was a strong advocate in the Rams’ move.
