After the 1994 NFL season, the Los Angeles Rams relocated to St. Louis, Missouri and the Los Angeles Raiders relocated back to their original home of Oakland, California. Since then, residents of the second largest city in America waited for the country’s biggest sports league, the NFL, to return to them.
That wait ended last night.
Late last night, reports came out that at the NFL Owners meeting that was taking place in Houston, Texas, with approval from the owners, an agreement was reached between the Rams and the League to relocate the Rams back to Los Angeles for the 2016 season.
Back on January 4th, three teams, the Rams, the Raiders, and the San Diego Chargers filed for relocation. The Rams filed their own bid that included building a new stadium in Inglewood, California. The Raiders and Chargers filed a joint bid that included building a separate stadium in Carson, California in which both teams can play in. After hours of negotiations last night, it was announced that the Raiders and Chargers have broken up their partnership and the Raiders will stay in Oakland and the Chargers will have until next year to decide if they want to relocate.
Speculation of the Rams moving back to Los Angeles began in January 2014 when Rams owner Stan Kroenke bought 60 acres of land in Inglewood located near the old Los Angeles Forum. A year later, Kroenke announced his intentions to build a stadium on the site as well as an entertainment district around the stadium. Construction for the stadium began on December 21, 2015.
The Rams leave St. Louis after 22 seasons. The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2000 and played in another two years later.
The Rams were previously located in Los Angeles from 1946 to 1994. They won an NFL championship in 1951.