IRVING, Texas -- NFL owners likely will vote on Stan Kroenke's bid to buy the St. Louis Rams at the next round of league meetings in August, and several league sources have said there's strong support for him.
Kroenke met with the league's finance committee during the NFL Spring Meeting this week, and Commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday that he hoped the issue would come to a vote before the start of the 2010 regular season.
League sources indicated weeks ago there likely would be an additional meeting added this summer and that Rams ownership would be a prime topic.
Kroenke, a billionaire who owns 40 percent of the Rams, has exercised his right to purchase the full share of the team, but he's facing cross-ownership issues because he also owns the NBA's Denver Nuggets and NHL's Colorado Avalanche. Kroenke has proposed transferring ownership of the Rams to his wife, Wal-Mart heiress Ann Walton Kroenke, as a way to conform with the league's regulations.
Illinois businessman Shahid Khan reached an agreement with Rams owners Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez on Feb. 11 to buy the team. Khan said last month that he still would like to complete the deal "if the opportunity presents itself."
