Mauro Renteria, a self-proclaimed Los Angeles Rams fan, brazenly heaved his eyes toward his 2019-20 season ticket package and paused for a couple of seconds — displaying an ambiguous and, at times, dejected look.
“I’ve been a season ticket holder every year since the team’s return back in 2016,” Renteria said. “Given our early struggles this season, I’m going to see how the rest of the year plays out before deciding what to do with my plan.”
Renteria, like many, are currently being courted and lobbied by the Rams to renew their season ticket plans, as the franchise is set to move into its new home, SoFi Stadium, next season.
Looking to the Future of Los Angeles Rams Football
SoFi Stadium
The state of the art venue, which will play host to the Super Bowl in 2022, the College Football Playoff title game in 2023, and the Olympics in 2028, reportedly cost over $5 billion to build — making it the most expensive venue in the history of the National Football League. That number is approximately $2.5 billion more than the second most-expensive NFL stadium, also in the midst of the construction process, Allegiant Stadium — the future home of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Given the other-worldly figures, Stan Kroenke and Co. want to sever any thought of contriteness by assuring the stadium ingrains the team’s commitment to its local fanbase — a still recovering one — following the franchise’s brutistic departure in 1994 and promiscuous breakup that lasted two decades.
Postseason Push
The truth of the matter is that the product on the field, not the venue, will go a longer way in retaining and strengthening the Rams fanbase. That’s clearly been evident, this season. Following a 3-3 start to the 2019-20 campaign, the Rams landed superstar cornerback, Jalen Ramsey, in a blockbuster deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars — meant to shore up its struggling secondary and propel the team’s chances for a potential playoff push.
Los Angeles enters Week 15 with an 8-5 record and remain in the hunt for a potential Wild Card spot — trailing the Minnesota Vikings by one game. Albeit not controlling their own fate, it seems the Rams have finally caught fire — annihilating its last two opponents by a 62-19 margin, including an impressive home victory last week against the, then, 10-2, division-leading Seattle Seahawks. LAR’s final three games will feature teams that are a combined 20-18-1, including a pivotal Week 16 road matchup against the San Francisco 49ers who host a league-best 11-2 record. The team, in all likelihood, will have to win out to have a realistic shot for a postseason berth.
What’s Next
The Rams, realistically speaking, are not only fighting for a playoff spot. They’re fighting to retain an abundance of season-ticket and personal seat license purchasers for the inaugural season at multi-billion dollar SoFi stadium. Last season’s bland-like Super Bowl appearance, which lacked ample buzz across the city, indicates that the team has yet to prove itself as a luminary franchise — especially in a city like Los Angeles, where the lights shine the brightest and the biggest stars dwell at.
These final three regular season games will dictate the next chapter of the Los Angeles Rams football franchise as it bids its final farewell to the history-storied Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Main Photo:
Embed from Getty Images
