Rams file for relocation to Los Angeles

The St. Louis Rams have filed for relocation to Los Angeles.

But they are not alone, as the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders have done the same.

On Monday night, the National Football League made the following statement:

“Three teams – the Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, and San Diego Chargers – each submitted applications to our office today to relocate their franchises to the Los Angeles area beginning with the 2016 season. Each team submitted the appropriate documentation in support of its application required by the NFL Policy and Procedures for Proposed Franchise Relocations.

The applications will be reviewed this week by league staff and three league committees that will meet in New York on Wednesday and Thursday — the Los Angeles Opportunities, Stadium, and Finance committees. The applications will be presented for consideration at next week’s league meeting in Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday. The relocation of a franchise requires the affirmative vote of three-quarters of the NFL clubs (24 of 32).”

For the Chargers, owner Dean Spanos made a lengthy announcement regarding their reasons for submitting a relocation file. As for Raiders’ owner Mark Davis, no statement has been made. And as for the Rams, only a small statement was made:

“The St. Louis Rams informed the National Football League today that the Rams propose to relocate to the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. The relocation would be effective for the 2016 NFL League Year.”

Coming off another losing season (their ninth in a row), the Rams franchise now has to face the drama of possibly no longer playing in the Gateway City, the place they have called home since 1995, and where the “Greatest Show on Turf” was born.

St. Louis has done everything the NFL has asked them to do in regards to preparing to keep their current team (when they had submitted their proposal to the league, neither San Diego nor Oakland had made out one yet). But with owner Stan Kroenke as silent as ever, it remains to be seen if all the work the city has down and proposed to keep the Rams in St. Louis will matter in the end.

For many loyal fans, it hopefully will.