Chiefs President Mark Donovan Shares Plans for St. Louis Market

[DaFace]

Since we've got basically nothing to talk about right now...

http://www.chiefs.com/news/article-2...c?sf29265304=1

Chiefs president Mark Donovan was recently asked about the efforts to bring Chiefs Kingdom to St. Louis
The plan was to be patient and respectful to a community that had just lost a big piece of its identity.

With the Rams franchise moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles this past offseason, there was a natural connection between the reach of Chiefs Kingdom and the proximity to the St. Louis market.

On Friday, Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan was asked about the plans to bring the Chiefs brand into a market that sits just a few hours down I-70.

“The day they announced that the Rams were leaving St. Louis, we got a handful of phone calls from people wanting to buy season tickets from St. Louis,” Donovan explained. “Then the day after they moved, we got a handful of phone calls from corporations in St. Louis saying, ‘We want to be partners with the Chiefs. Let’s talk about activation programs.’

“What we knew and respected was the process that town was going through,” Donovan added. “What their fans went through was tough—painful. When you move a football franchise, that’s ripping a big part of the town out of that town.

“We said publicly (at the time) that we’re going to be respectful, we’re going to be patient, and that we are going to enter the St. Louis market, but we’re going to do it at the right time.”

That plan was fast-tracked last week after the league sent a memo out to every owner, president and CEO in the NFL.

“The memo said that because the Rams are playing in Los Angeles, St. Louis is now an open television market,” Donovan explained. “For preseason television, we basically put our own networks together. So a couple of teams, including us, have lobbied the league and said we’re going to put our preseason games in St. Louis because it makes sense. We have fans there and we’re going to get in front of them now and develop that relationship.

“The league has decided that they’re going to allow any team in the NFL that can put together an adjacent network, which is really confusing and very complicated, but basically means that if you can make a chain link of networks—broadcast partners, to get you to St. Louis, then you can broadcast your games there.

“We knew that was coming and we have been working on this for the past few months. (Vice president of business development) Tyler Epp and his team have already negotiated deals, so our preseason games will be broadcasted in St. Louis. The plan is to have our shoulder programming, which is all the programming you see on our network, in St. Louis this season as well.”

For Donovan and the Chiefs, this is just the first step.

“We’ll be in there with a product,” he explained of the television programming. “Then we’ll continue to build relationships in the community.”

The Chiefs have already heard from military bases and schools in the area about wanting to do events with them.

“I think what you’re going to see over the next four of five years is a real resurgence of the Chiefs brand in St. Louis,” Donovan said. “We do have some advantages over the other NFL franchises, not only in geography, but because it’s in the state of Missouri, we’re the only team that can actually market our corporate partnerships as well as our brand in St. Louis, so that’s a big advantage.

“Again, we’ll do it respectfully, we’ll do it patiently and we’ll do it strategically.”

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Gonna be funny when people in St. Louis start rooting for the Broncos because it's just easier to root for a winner.

"L"

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

How do you think that lifelong fans in Los Angeles felt about the Rams moving after being in the city for the first 31 years, then in Anaheim the following 14 years?

St. Louis has never been a good football city, which goes back to the Cardinals.

I'd imagine they felt like shit, too. They have/had every right to hate Frontiere and the NFL.

Also, your claim of St. Louis not being a good football city is bullshit.

The city just ****ing offered to pay up to build a second stadium with public money in less than 25 years and supported a team that had only 4 winning seasons and 5 playoff appearances in 21 seasons. Hell, I think the football Cardinals were more beloved in St. Louis than the Rams were.
Bidwell left because the city wouldn't play ball with him. He wanted to stay in St. Louis.

If you're going to claim St. Louis isn't a football city, can I claim the same regarding LA which lost 2 football teams as well(3 if you want to include the Chargers)?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

If you're going to claim St. Louis isn't a football city, can I claim the same regarding LA which lost 2 football teams as well(3 if you want to include the Chargers)?

The Rams sold out the Coliseum for the first 30 years they were in Los Angeles. Frontiere moved them to Anaheim, which isn't Los Angeles, nor is it in Los Angeles County.

The Rams were a great team in the 80's. It wasn't until the early 90's that attendance dropped due to the fact that Frontiere was trying to get out of her Anaheim deal and of course, jumped to St. Louis.

The Rams are back home, where they belong.

And yes, the St. Louis is a shitty football town. The Cardinals were awful and the attendance was crap. As soon as the Rams started faltering, the crowds disappeared.

Furthermore, the city only offered to build a stadium once it was readily apparent that Kroenke was planning to move but regardless, Kroenke was moving them back to Los Angeles.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The Rams sold out the Coliseum for the first 30 years they were in Los Angeles. Frontiere moved them to Anaheim, which isn't Los Angeles, nor is it in Los Angeles County.

The Rams were a great team in the 80's. It wasn't until the early 90's that attendance dropped due to the fact that Frontiere was trying to get out of her Anaheim deal and of course, jumped to St. Louis.

The Rams are back home, where they belong.

And yes, the St. Louis is a shitty football town. The Cardinals were awful and the attendance was crap. As soon as the Rams started faltering, the crowds disappeared.

Furthermore, the city only offered to build a stadium once it was readily apparent that Kroenke was planning to move but regardless, Kroenke was moving them back to Los Angeles.

The Rams sold out every game in St. Louis from 1995 to the second last home game in 2006. Then after they, went 15-65(worst 5 year stretch in NFL history) while Kroenke became majority owner. Then, the smoke about the team moving didn't really happen until 2013 when the Rams won arbitration due to a stupid term the city politicians gave the Rams when they negotiated the lease.

Speaking as someone who went to the 16th game of the season in 2011 when they were 2-13 and starting a 3rd string QB during that game, I'm fully aware of the attendance. But I think every city aside from Cleveland would see an attendance drop if prolonged losing occurred.

Also, that reminds me. NEITHER SAN DIEGO OR OAKLAND AT THE TIME OFFERED PUBLIC FUNDING FOR A STADIUM. And they both kept their teams. How is that not BS?

[DaFace]

Are we really having a pissing match about cities now?

[Rams Fan]

If the NFL ever returns to St. Louis(which I don't think it will for the foreseeable future and if it ever does it won't be for 20+ years), it needs to be as an expansion team.

The city loves the Blues due in part to being truly a team that's always called St. Louis home. If the expansion bid didn't get ****ed up and went to Jacksonville, I'm pretty sure the NFL would still be in St. Louis.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Also, that reminds me. NEITHER SAN DIEGO OR OAKLAND AT THE TIME OFFERED PUBLIC FUNDING FOR A STADIUM. And they both kept their teams. How is that not BS?

It's not over for either city.

If the stadium referendum doesn't get on the November ballot or it's defeated, the Chargers will likely move to Los Angeles.

The Raiders are on a year to year lease. There's no way Oakland or Alameda County will ever back a publicly funded stadium so either Raiders end up in Las Vegas or in Los Angeles, if the Chargers decline.

[Rams Fan]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It's not over for either city.

If the stadium referendum doesn't get on the November ballot or it's defeated, the Chargers will likely move to Los Angeles.

The Raiders are on a year to year lease. There's no way Oakland or Alameda County will ever back a publicly funded stadium so either Raiders end up in Las Vegas or in Los Angeles, if the Chargers decline.

I think the Raiders end up in Vegas and the Chargers go to LA. I don't see SD passing the referendum(sorry Buck ).

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Bowser

They were talking about this on the radio yesterday. Petro and Co. seemed to think it won't be as easy as it seems to nab the St. Louis fans. They brought up the fact of how Clark Hunt was one of the owners that approved the move of the Rams to LA and how that might piss some St. Louis folks off, viewing him as a vulture to swoop in and pick up the scraps.

And yet Clark kissing the NFL's ass like that, and being some kind of "voice of reason" hero during the negotiations a few years ago, among other things... never seems to get his football team any favorable calls or coverage

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Easy 6

And yet Clark kissing the NFL's ass like that, and being some kind of "voice of reason" hero during the negotiations a few years ago, among other things... never seems to get his football team any favorable calls or coverage

Well, once the Chiefs win something of note, that will change.

Until then...

[Tombstone RJ]

Originally Posted by Rams Fan

Why the **** would people in St. Louis root for a team that's 10+ hours away when the Chiefs, Colts, and Bears are all less than 6? Shit, the Saints are 9 hours away, too.

NFL's dead to me, though. The NFL/Kroenke ****ed over STL in order to "right a wrong" to make money. And the NHL even showed they gave a shit about St. Louis by Bettman flat out saying he hoped it would help heal civic pride.

Because it's easy to root for a winner like the Broncos and it's hard to root for a team that only wins a playoff game every 20 years or so? Think about it. Losers gonna lose. Winners gonna win.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by Tombstone RJ

Because it's easy to root for a winner like the Broncos and it's hard to root for a team that only wins a playoff game every 20 years or so? Think about it. Losers gonna lose. Winners gonna win.

By that logic, they're all destined to become Patriots fans.

[Discuss Thrower]

St. Louis fans that don't already have any sort of KC sympathy will be Colts, Packers, Bears or Cowboys fans.

Most of the Rams fans I know hate the Royals and all of us "bandwagon" fans so they're not going to start magically rooting for the team that hasn't had all that much more success than the Rams have had as of late.

Good on Mr. Donovan on trying to make his boss some more money, but maybe he should focus on making the experience leaving the TSC parking lot less of a slow-motion **** scene.

[gblowfish]

I'm going to STL this weekend. I don't care if they want to be Chiefs fans or not. We really don't need their support. They won't care about the Chiefs, just like we don't care about the Blues. No biggie, each city has its own teams. I'm OK with that.

[ChiefsCountry]

Originally Posted by DaFace

By that logic, they're all destined to become Patriots fans.

Ironically the Patriots were close to moving to St. Louis in 1993.