St Louis Rams opt out of UK deal

St Louis Rams have opted out of their commitment to play a game in London in 2013 and 2014, though they will still travel over this season, honouring their arrangement to take on the New England Patriots on October 28 at Wembley.

The NFL are due to stage a regular season contest in the English capital for the next five seasons but St Louis will now not be coming back so quickly, instead focusing their efforts on developing their current stadium.

“In an effort to focus on the Edward Jones Dome First Tier Process with the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, the St. Louis Rams are withdrawing their commitment to play a home game in London in each of the 2013 and 2014 seasons,” the team said in a statement to www.nfl.com.

“The St. Louis Rams will play the New England Patriots on Sunday, October 28, 2012 at London’s historic Wembley Stadium as previously announced.”

The Rams have been in negotiations with the St Louis Convention and Visitors Bureau, who own their current stadium, the Edward Jones Dome, over improvements to the venue.

The franchise could actually break the lease after the 2014 campaign, raising the possibility of them moving away from the city.

“We’re committed to working with the city to find a first-tier solution,” said chief operating officer Kevin Demoff.

“We have said we need our actions to speak louder than words, and this action today should show St Louis we care about getting this right.”

The NFL first staged a game at Wembley back in 2007, with the New York Giants getting the better of the Miami Dolphins. Since then seven other teams have visited, includinf the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on two occasions.