Kroenke approved as St. Louis Rams new majority owner

Stan Kroenke added to his sports franchise empire that spans two continents Wednesday when he was approved as the new majority owner of the St. Louis Rams by the NFL owners.

Announcing the news NFL meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead, Commissioner Roger Goodell said the vote was unanimous.

Kroenke purchased controlling interest from the Rosenbloom family for a reported $750 million. The Rosenblooms have NFL ownership ties dating back 57 years. Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, the children of deceased former owner Georgia Frontiere, will retain an interest in the team.

Kroenke is currently the owner of the NBA Denver Nuggets, NHL Colorado Avalanche, MLS Colorado Rapids, the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and is the largest shareholder of the Arsenal soccer club of the English Premier League.

Kroenke will be allowed time to divest of his majority ownership share in the Nuggets and the Avalanche as called for in the NFL's cross-ownership rules, which apply to the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball.

"The Denver franchises will be in control of Mr. Kroenke's son (Josh)," said Eric Grubman, the NFL's executive vice president of business operations.

In the Rams, Kroenke is getting a once-proud team that has fallen on hard times since winning Super Bowl XXXIV at the Georgia Dome on Jan. 30, 2000. The Rams were 1-15 last season and have posted a 6-42 record over the last three seasons.

The NFL wants to put a franchise in Los Angeles. The Rams, who were moved by Frontiere to St. Louis from Los Angeles in 1995, could possibly get out of their stadium lease by 2015.

"It's not our desire to ever lead the charge out of St. Louis," Kroenke said.

However, he left himself some wiggle room.

"The realistic part is that we'd like to be competitive," Kroenke said. "To be competitive, you have to have revenue. We are going to work really hard to have a model to produce revenue where we can be consistently competitive."

Etc.

The owners also heard a report from the negotiating committee on the progress of labor talks with the NFLPA. The two sides met 10 days ago. ... The NFL Network's RedZone show will be available at all league stadiums for use on scoreboards. ... Player health and safety issues were also discussed. ... Jets owner Woody Johnson did not have an update on the Darrelle Revis holdout. "Both sides have agreed not to comment," Johnson said. When asked if they were close to a deal, Johnson said, "I can't even comment on that."

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