ST. LOUIS — It was 2014. The Super Bowl was a few days away. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stepped to the mic at his annual Super Bowl-week press conference, and told the world that he had no knowledge of any plans by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke to develop a stadium in Los Angeles.
But that wasn’t true. Kroenke had long before briefed Goodell on his plan to buy the old Hollywood Park racetrack in Inglewood. Goodell promised confidentiality. Kroenke said he trusted him.
“We’re going to try very hard to stay under the radar screen and nobody will know we bought it,” Kroenke told Goodell.