Could the St Louis Rams become the London Rams?

Right wing talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is rumored to be back in on the deal to buy the St Louis Rams. The team could go for $700 million, and three potential buyers have
been lined up.

A group led by St. Louis Blues hockey team chairman Dave Checketts has been named as one of the bidders. The other two parties remain undisclosed at this point. At least one bid is for 100 percent of the team – and one could be loking at relocation the Rams to Los Angelese or eevn London, reports say.

Late last year Checketts emerged as frontrunner to buy the St Louis franchise in a consortium with Limbaugh. But Limbaugh, who recently dismissed the devestating events in Haiti as little more than a political opportunity for the President, was told in October that other NFL owners would not allow him to take over a team because of his controversial views.

At the time Limbaugh told ESPN:

“This is not about the NFL, it’s not about the St. Louis Rams, it’s not about me,” Limbaugh said. “This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative.

“Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we’re going to have.”

Currently, 60 percent of the team is owned by siblings Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez who inherited the majority share when their mother, Georgia Frontiere, died in 2008. It is this share that is definitely up for sale.

The remaining 40 percent is owned by Colorado-based sports tycoon Stan Kroenke. Whether Kroenke intends to sell his share remains unclear – further muddying the waters for potential buyers.

Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets basketball team, Denver-based hockey and soccer teams the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rapids, and is part owner of English soccer giants Arsenal. Under NFL rules, his full ownership of other major league sports teams would prevent Kroenke from taking ownership of a football team outside of markets he already has interest in.

Kroenke is currently 17 shares away from owning 30 percent of London-based Arsenal – the threshold that, under Premier League rules, would force him to make a bid for the entire team.

Following a series of very successful NFL regular season games being played in London, talk has been rife of the NFL getting a team in the UK capital.

In October, 2009 NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league has “tremendous interest” in placing a team in London. If Kroenke takes control of Arsenal, could we see The London Rams?