Anaheim Resolution Backs Rams Amid Rumors of Move

ANAHEIM — The City Council Tuesday postponed a discussion on the financial implications of a move by the Los Angles Rams, but passed a resolution supporting the team’s presence in the city.

With the resolution, the council expressed “support for the Rams to continue playing home games in Anaheim for a long time to come,” Mayor Tom Daly said.

A discussion on the ramifications of a move by the football team is scheduled for Tuesday.

Speculation of a Rams move has been swirling throughout City Hall since November, when officials in Baltimore expressed interest in luring the team to its new stadium. The deal that Baltimore reportedly could offer the ballclub apparently is more generous than the Rams’ agreement with Anaheim.

City Manager James D. Ruth said he wanted the Rams to remain, but the city is not willing to “subsidize” the organization. City officials say the Rams have a good lease agreement here.

Team officials have said no decision on a move will be made until after the season. But it is clear that the team is weighing its options.

Recently, the Rams rejected a city offer to extend for 15 years a lease at its practice facility in Anaheim. That lease expires Dec. 31. The team has chosen to risk being evicted from the facility rather than accept a long-term lease.

The Rams’ lease with the city of Anaheim for the use of Anaheim Stadium expires in 2015, but an escape clause in the lease allows the team to leave provided it gives 15 months’ notice and pays off the remaining $30 million owed on bonds issued to expand the stadium for the ballclub when it moved to the city in 1980.