In yesterday’s column, while wondering what Rams owner Stan Kroenke might be plotting, and whether London is on his radar, the following line was included: “Don’t be surprised if the Rams end up being one of the teams that plays a regular-season game next fall there.”
It didn’t take long for that to become reality. The NFL announced Friday morning that the Rams will be the host team for a game to be played in Wembley Stadium for the next three seasons beginning on Oct. 28, 2012, with a game against the New England Patriots. That means the Rams would have just seven regular-season games in the Edward Jones Dome in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Teams that play in London have their bye the following week. Kroenke also owns the Arsenal soccer team that plays in London.
Said Kroenke, by way of press release, “This is a tremendous honor for our franchise, the city of St. Louis and our fans throughout the world. We are excited about the opportunity to reach new audiences globally. This is a great platform to showcase the city of St. Louis to London and the UK.
"We’ve seen first-hand the increased popularity of the NFL not only in London but throughout Europe. To play a role in that growth over the next three years will be incredible and is a testament to the many good things happening not only in the NFL but also in the St. Louis Rams organization.”
In the release, Kroenke did not address the issue of fans and the cirty losing a home game each of the next three seasons as well as losing a marquee game against the Patriots. The 2014 season could be the last one on the Rams' lease for the dome.
The NFL had been considering playing more than one game in London, but for this year at least, the Rams and Patriots will be the only game played there. There has been one game played in London since 2007 when the Giants played Miami (home). Last season, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were the designated home team for a game against the Chicago Bears on Oct. 23. The Bucs also gave up a home game in 2009, playing the New England Patriots on Oct. 25.
However, earlier this month, club co-chairman Joel Glazer said they had told the league they “wouldn’t want to be participating in the foreseeable future.”
The other games in London, all NFC vs. AFC, were New Orleans (home) and San Diego in 2008 and San Francisco (home) and Denver in 2010. The Rams have home games in 2012 with AFC teams New England and the New York Jets. Their non-division home games are against Green Bay, Minnesota and Washington.
Kroenke had told the league the Rams would not only be willing to play there, but would be inclined to do so on a regular basis.
Prior to this past season’s game, commissioner Roger Goodell said he had been talking with several teams about developing a consistent presence in the UK At a league meeting 12 days before the London game, the NFL committed to play in London at least through 2016 with the goal of playing two games each season.
That, Goodell said at a Q&A with international fans in London, would “advance our cause here by growing the fan base quicker,” which would be "very powerful and lead us to what we ultimately would like to do--have a franchise here in London."
Goodell also said, “Should we focus on just a couple of teams as consistently coming back here to build a fan base around those teams?
Asked about playing in other European countries, Goodell said, "We want to bring our game to continental Europe. The issue is, we want to make a success out of it in the UK. We think this (London) has got all of the basics that we need to be successful. It's got an advanced fan base, a strong media market, a great stadium. We have a long history here. So all those things contribute, let's make it work. And if we can be successful here, then we can take that model, potentially, to continental Europe."
After the Rams' involvement was announced, Goodell said,“The response to NFL games in the UK among our British fans has been exceptional. We are confident that having the Rams host one game in the UK in each of the next three seasons will allow us to better serve the growing popularity of our sport beyond the borders of the United States.”
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