Rams Owner May Bring Soccer to Inglewood Site

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Stan Kroenke may be bringing a soccer team called L.A. Gunners to the 60-acre site he recently purchased in Inglewood, according to British news reports.

The land purchase by Kroenke – who has majority stakes in the National Football League’s St. Louis Rams and Major League Soccer’s Colorado Rapids – led to speculation that he could bring the Rams to a stadium there.

But since then, British tabloids Metro and Sun reported he is planning to buy a new license to create a soccer team based in Los Angeles. The reports did not mention any plans for football teams at the site, so Inglewood soccer could come in addition to or instead of an NFL franchise.

The LA Gunners would be a sister team to London’s Arsenal, according to the reports. Kroenke also owns a controlling stake in that team, Metro says. Kroenke’s organization has not commented on the reports.

Inglewood has long been considered as a viable site for an NFL stadium, so when news broke about Kroenke’s purchase of the site last week, speculation was high that he might be looking to move the Rams here. A Kroenke spokesman told the Business Journal that his boss was looking at “all options” for the site, where Wal-Mart Stores Inc. had once planned to build two retail stores.

NBCSports.com columnist Mike Prindiville questioned the reports because the Los Angeles area already is home to two MLS franchises, LA Galaxy and Chivas USA. But he also said Kroenke might take over and revamp Chivas.

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