The St. Louis Rams want to move back to Los Angeles because the St. Louis market is a dud and because attendance is bad despite "significant" investments in the team by Rams owner Stan Kroenke, according to the team's relocation filing obtained Tuesday night by USA TODAY Sports.Stadium officials in St. Louis also failed to keep a big promise they made to lure the team from Los Angeles in 1995 – to provide the Rams with a "first-tier" stadium in St. Louis, according to the Rams' filing.
So now they want to move back to L.A., where Rams ownership believes its stadium plan near the L.A. airport is "superior" to the one being jointly proposed by the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders in nearby Carson, Calif. All three teams filed applications Monday to relocate to Los Angeles County in 2016, subject to a vote by NFL owners that could happen as soon as next week in Houston.
The NFL has said it will support only one new stadium in Los Angeles capable of housing two NFL teams -- giving all three teams motive to argue why their plan in L.A. is better than the other and why their current city is no longer viable. Only the Rams' application was obtained by USA TODAY Sports Tuesday night.
FILING: Rams' owner states case for relocation (PDF)
Sometimes the Rams' application language is stark about the team's current home. "St. Louis is not a three professional team market," the application states in a bold heading, referring to the city's baseball Cardinals, hockey Blues and NFL Rams.
The Rams' application argues that trading small-market St. Louis for big-market Los Angeles would strengthen the league.
"Compared to all other U.S. cities, St. Louis is struggling," the team states in its application.
It cites studies that demonstrate that "Los Angeles is a strong market with great opportunity, while St. Louis is a market that will in all likelihood be unable to sustain three professional sports teams."
The Rams have not had a winning season since 2003 after finishing this past season with a 7-9 record. Even so, the Rams' application boasts about ownership's investment in the on-the-field product and implies that ownership is not getting a good return on this investment from the St. Louis fan base.
"The current Rams ownership's investment in the on-the-field Rams team has been significant," the Rams' application states.
"The Rams have consistently spent to the salary cap in each year under Stan Kroenke and have significantly increased the coaching and scouting budgets…Despite these investments and engagements, Rams attendance since 2010 has been well below the league's average. The combination of low attendance and the lack of pricing power… has consistently placed the Rams in the low fourth quartile in gross ticketing receipts generally between 60% and 70% of the NFL average per game for the regular season."
Comparing the three cities and teams, the Rams' application cites the team's popularity in L.A., saying that surveys show "greater demand for the return of the Rams than any NFL team." The Rams also cite studies that show that "San Diego and Oakland are significantly more attractive markets than St. Louis, which is projected to be 26th in growth among NFL markets moving forward."
"St. Louis is already the smallest market of the three in both population and gross domestic product ("GDP") before factoring in future growth," the team's application states.
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