CVC Fires Shot At Rams

I fully intended to continue my mock draft today, but then this happened. The Conventions and Visitors Commission told the Rams on Friday that, according to their lease, they are not permitted to play any home games at any facility other than the Edward Jones Dome. That, of course, means that the Rams won’t be allowed to serve as the home team when the travel to London to play the Patriots on October 28 of this year or for the two seasons after that.

First, I think it’s fairly certain the Rams will still play this year’s game at the very least in London as the home team. The schedule is already made, and it would just be too difficult to switch everything around. Also, the Pats have said they have no interest in being the home team and losing one of their games in Boston.

This whole thing is the CVC firing a shot at the Rams with the negotiations beginning in a few days. It’s obvious at this point that the Rams and Stan Kroenke hold all the cards when it comes to the negotiations, so the CVC is playing their hand now to try to make something happen. My guess is that this won’t be much of an issue, but it could play a role in the CVC and St. Louis getting something back in negotiations. Kroenke isn’t going to give up on the London thing, so it could be as simple as a payoff to the CVC or maybe something like using this as a bargaining chip. For their part, the CVC said in their release that they understand the London game will provide exposure for the city and team, so it wasn’t all bad.

The Rams delivered a press release later on Friday addressing the issue, so check on the next page for the release in its entirety.