St. Louis Rams owner, Sam Kroenke, purchased 60 acres of land in Los Angeles which could potentially serve as the new home for the Rams. This would reunite the Rams with the organization’s original location in LA, where they played from 1946 to 1994.
“It would be disappointing to see them leave from St. Louis to LA. The Rams are such an important part of the city, I have been going to games since a very young age. It would be a huge blow to the city losing this franchise,” junior Matt Pilgrim said.
In 2009, the Rams made renovations to the $300 million Edward Jones Dome estimated to cost around $30 million. The city is willing to pay $124 million for more extensive renovations; however, the Rams demanded anywhere from $700 to $800 million.
“Personally I think the Rams should ultimately just build a brand new stadium in St. Louis, aside from where they are currently located. It is going to take a lot more than renovations to attract more fans,” sophomore Clay Bierk said.
This past season, the Rams had the third worst attendance rate in the league at around 57,000 fans per game. This recent poor attendance rates is a major reason why the Rams could potentially move to Los Angeles.
“The sports market in LA is honestly bigger than St. Louis. The Rams would most likely have a higher attendance rate in LA than they would in the upcoming years here. The only way I could see more people going to game is if they build a new stadium, or if they starting winning more games,” senior Killian Kamp.
On Facebook, a group has created a new page called “Bring Back The Los Angeles Rams to L.A.”. The group has six thousand followers.
“If the Rams were to move, I think it would be awesome to see a professional basketball team here in St. Louis. St. Louis has been a recent hot-bed for high school basketball stars such as Jayson Tatum and Bradley Beal,” junior Matt Blake said.
The decision will ultimately be announced during the off-season.
“It would be heartbreaking, I hope the officials can some how make a deal to build a new stadium here to keep the Rams in town,” sophomore Evan Stanley said.
The city of St. Louis may lose revenue each year by losing the Rams.
“Since my dad has had season tickets since 2010, it would be hard on him losing his season tickets. He also sponsors the Rams so it may in fact hurt his business,” junior Caroline Gibbs said.