It seems the potential for NFL relocation to Los Angeles has advanced to the point where the league is considering possible candidates to replace the Rams in St. Louis. Chief amongst those considered? The Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report from Jason Cole of Bleacher Report. Per Cole, the Jaguars moving to St. Louis is the "top St. Louis solution, for now."
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch just recently released a general overview of plans for a new "riverfront football stadium," replete with bridges, gardens and a brew pub, to be built in St. Louis. Despite the money and venue being offered by the city, Rams owner Stan Kroenke seems bound and determined to see his franchise moved back to Los Angeles. After the outpouring of support for the old Los Angeles Rams teams the NFL no doubt took notice of when the Rams took part in joint training camp practices with the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard, Calif. last month, it's not a surprise that both sides probably want to see the franchise return from whence they came.
As for the Jaguars, they have been discussed as potential relocation candidates before, but often to London, where they play annual games, or perhaps even to Southern California. During the league's annual meetings in March though, team-owner Shad Khan indicated that it was intentional on his part that the Jags have not been part of the relocation discussion of late.
"I find that interesting, and it's no accident," Khan said, via John Oehser of the team's website. "Our mission and what really makes sense is engaging Jacksonville, coming up with a regional approach - and of course, the London aspect ... I think that's where the future really lies for us."
Playing a yearly game at Wembley Stadium in London has caused some to wonder if a move to London as a groundbreaking expansion effort for the league is in the cards, but Khan and others seem to believe that it's actually helping the team to remain in Jacksonville.
"Shad [Khan] has demonstrated very clearly that he has an interest in this community succeeding, as well as the Jaguars," Jerry Mallot, president of Jax USA Partnership said last Nov., via Jacksonville.com. "He's a global businessman. He doesn't think of one city as a playing field. He sees the world as a playing field. It's very natural for him.
"When things were a little weak [financially] on the homefront, Shad was able to make it better for his investment to play a game in London while he builds the team. I think people have come to understand and trust what Shad is doing. He's trying to help Jacksonville grow along with the team."
Still, while Khan has made great strides for the Jaguars in Jacksonville and abroad, the potential pressure of 31 other owners and the league could very well change his mind or, at the least, shift his focus. Khan remains hard at work attempting to see renovations to EverBank Field through, but other decisions around the NFL are being made that could potentially make all of his efforts in Florida moot.
