The Rams are gone. Mark Davis continues to insist heās not interested in moving his Oakland Raiders to St. Louis.
So what about Jacksonville?
A small market that struggles to fill seats. Currently plays a game a year in London to help generate revenue. And owned by Shahid Khan. You know, the central Illinois businessman who unsuccessfully bid to purchase the Rams in 2010.
With the St. Louis market currently vacant as a result of Tuesdayās relocation vote by NFL owners, would Khan be interested in bringing his Jaguars to the Gateway City?
āI donāt see that at all, OK?ā Khan said firmly.
He spoke just before midnight Tuesday in the lobby of the Houston hotel, where just a few hours earlier NFL owners decided to spurn St. Louis and let the Rams move to Los Angeles.
Khanās flirtation with St. Louis 5½ years ago came to an end when Rams owner Stan Kroenke exercised matching rights to purchase controlling interest in the team. But in his comments Tuesday, Khan sounded almost as if St. Louis was an old girlfriend and he was now happily married ā to Jacksonville.
āFor me, I think (St. Louis) was something that happened, and life changed, and you moved on,ā Khan said of his ill-fated Rams bid. āFor me, there was a time, there was a place. But you learn from history and you look forward. It wasnāt meant to be in St. Louis.ā
But not long after that attempt to own an NFL team failed, Khan heard from the league.
āWe know youāre not happy with how things turned out, but letās kind of help you,ā is how Khan characterized the leagueās approach.
Little more than a year later, Khan became owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Losing out to Kroenke on the Rams āwasnāt the result I was looking for,ā Khan said. āBut things turned out great for me, quite frankly. To end up in Jacksonville, own 100 percent of the team. ...ā
Khan has since gotten to know Kroenke better and says he respects him. But is Kroenke the right guy to bring NFL football back to Los Angeles ā a market that demands not only success but glitz from its sports franchises?
āI think heās a very competent businessman,ā Khan said. āI think heāll be very successful. But I think heās the kind of guy who would be successful wherever he chose to be.ā
As for St. Louisā attempt to keep the Rams with a $1.1 billion riverfront stadium plan, Khan lauded the efforts of the local task force.
āI was really impressed with the kind of job Dave Peacock did,ā Khan said. āI think he really represented St. Louis and maybe Missouri at its finest. So if youāre a football fan in St. Louis, hats off to Dave Peacock.
āAs just an observer, what St. Louis and Missouri did was far, far better than not doing anything. And who are we to judge, but I think you look at the result, it fell a little bit short. Thatās far better to have tried and maybe not succeeded than not tried at all.ā
Even so, Khan expressed some of the same concerns over the St. Louis market as Kroenke did in the Ramsā relocation application. Minus the vitriol.
āItās a different era there, and different age,ā Khan said. āIf you look at the big picture, the worldās changing. Obviously St. Louis has changed.
āI mean I lived not too far from St. Louis for many, many years. Just think about what St. Louis used to be. One of the big hubs of TWA and American (airlines). You know, Ralston Purina. Monsanto. Anheuser-Busch.ā
Khanās Flex-N-Gate automotive parts plant in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., has helped make him one of countryās richest men, with a net worth of $5.3 billion, according to Forbes.
His business made him very familiar with St. Louis over the years.
āI remember we had the Ford Explorer plant (in St. Louis) ā gone,ā Khan said. āThe Chrysler minivan plant ā gone. We still have the GM plant. ... It used to be a huge automotive center. It changed.
āAnd the corporates. All the corporate headquarters are gone. I mean, NFL football, the corporate sponsorships ā that premium revenue ā is huge.ā
Once the St. Louis task force was formed, it became apparent early on that the Rams would attack the level of corporate support and the potential for future corporate growth in St. Louis in building a case to relocate.
Judging by the result of Tuesdayās final vote, 30-2 in favor of Rams relocation, that argument must have resonated with league owners.
So what should St. Louis do about its NFL future? The first question that needs to be asked, Khan said, is does the NFL make sense for the region?
āI think thatās what you have to ask yourself,ā he said. āBecause if it is a smaller market, it has to be a private-public partnership. And it has to make sense for everybody.ā
With a laugh, he added: āIt takes two to tango. And you have to have the will and the desire to try and make it work.ā
Obviously, Kroenke didnāt want to tango. And it looks like Khan and the Jaguars wonāt be a dance partner for St. Louis, either. Certainly not in the near future, anyway.
If Khan indeed develops wandering eyes, many observers feel his first choice would be London. If and when London no longer becomes an option, then Khan might turn his attention to St. Louis. At least thatās how the thinking goes.
And even then, the St. Louis Jaguars may be wishful thinking. Khan appears to be establishing roots in Jacksonville, investing money both in the community and in his product. For example, as ESPN in Jacksonville pointed out, Khan is in the process of spending $76 million of his own money on improvements at city-owned EverBank Field.