The most important date on the St. Louis Rams calendar isn't the NFL combine, NFL Draft or their 2015 regular season kickoff. The city of St. Louis has until Jan. 28 to present Rams owner Stan Kroenke with plans for a stadium or else Kroenke will move forward with his plans to move the Rams back to Los Angeles.
Last year Kroenke hinted at his motives by purchasing a 60-acre plot in Inglewood, California. The surrounding 300 acres needed for the development of an NFL stadium was owned the Stockbridge Capital Group. As part of the "City of Champions Revitalization Project," Kroenke and his development group have conjoined at the hip with the Stockbridge Group on the surrounding acreage.
The Rams actually originated in Cleveland and lived a nomadic existence since then, but like Monica and Quincy in Love and Basketball, L.A. has always seemed like home. The Los Angeles Raiders were given their own ESPN 30 For 30, but the L.A. Rams era has gone somewhat unheralded. In fact, the fragmentation created by Oakland's move to L.A., in addition to their success under Al Davis' stewardship contributed to late owner Georgia Frontiere's decision to relocate the franchise to St. Louis.
According to NFL bylaws, any franchise interested in relocating would have between New Year's Day and February 15, meaning the Rams are eyeing 2016 as their L.A. premiere. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and other state officials have vowed to battle for the Rams to stay, but don't seem keen on a bidding war.
For current head Jeff Fisher, it would be a homecoming. Fisher was born in Southern California, attended USC and has constantly turned up in conversations as a candidate to coach the Trojans since Pete Carroll left the program for Seattle. However, it's out of his hands.
There's still hope for St. Louis. Relocation rules stipulate that a franchise must negotiate in good faith and exhaust every option with their current city before enacting a move.