Checketts, Limbaugh bidding for NFL's Rams

Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts is trying to expand his sports empire, and he has joined forces with an interesting partner in his quest to make that a reality.

Checketts and his group, SCP Worldwide, have made a joint bid with conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh to acquire the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League.

Besides owning Real Salt Lake and Rio Tinto Stadium, Checketts and SCP also possess the St. Louis Blues of the NHL and the Blues' arena, Scottrade Center, the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis and several other associated holdings, including Utah-based radio station KALL 700.

Acquiring an NFL franchise, however, would easily trump all of those other assets and would potentially serve as the centerpiece of SCP's growing collection of properties. That's a major reason why Checketts has teamed up with Limbaugh and other major investors to try to purchase the Rams.

Another major reason is the fact that purchasing the Rams could be Checketts' only chance to acquire an NFL team. NFL rules stipulate that potential investors that already own a franchise in the NBA, MLB or NHL cannot bid on an NFL team unless it's in the same city. Therefore, trying to land the Rams right now is a golden opportunity for Checketts and SCP, which would presumably have to offload the Blues at some point in the future if they wanted to go after a different NFL franchise.

SCP Worldwide spokesman Eric Gelfand said SCP won't be making any comments about the reports, but Limbaugh, a native of Cape Girardeau, Mo., about 100 miles south of St. Louis, released a statement on Tuesday to confirm that he's working with Checketts and SCP.

Checketts and Limbaugh once had offices in the same building in New York City when Checketts was running the New York Knicks.

"Dave Checketts and I have made a bid to buy the Rams, and we are continuing the process," said Limbaugh, who declined to discuss details, citing a confidentiality agreement with Goldman Sachs, the investment firm hired by the family of former Rams owner Georgia Frontiere to review assets of her estate, including the NFL team.

Forbes magazine has estimated the Rams franchise has a value of $929 million.

Frontiere's children, Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, inherited 60 percent of the Rams when their mother died in January 2008. Billionaire Stan Kroenke of Columbia, Mo., owns the remaining 40 percent. It wasn't clear if the Limbaugh/Checketts bid was for 100 percent of the Rams or just the share owned by Rosenbloom and Rodriguez.