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LA Rams agree to pay for security at LA Coliseum home games
File: A cheerleader performs before the capacity crowd during the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams at the L.A. Coliseum during preseason on Aug. 13, 2016. The Rams won 28-24.
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The Los Angeles Rams have reached an agreement with the city to reimburse them for city services at home football games at the L.A. Coliseum, according to a statement from the mayor's office. They've also agreed to make retroactive payments for two preseason home games from last month.
L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti met with Rams owner Stan Kroenke last month, requesting that the team cover the cost of security at games, according to the statement. The statement says the agreement will allow for the necessary police presence at games while also keeping patrol officers on the street, with game security not affecting patrols.
"Stan Kroenke and the Rams organization made it clear to me from the start that they intended to be partners with the City and good neighbors to the people of Los Angeles and the region," Garcetti said in the statement.
He added that the Rams will also be covering the cost of fire and sanitation support at and around the Coliseum.
"I am grateful the Rams organization is responding fully to our concerns, and to the Mayor for effectively securing this agreement to ensure that the LAPD can go back to focusing on our collective goal of reducing crime in Los Angeles," L.A. City Councilman Mitch O'Farrell said in a statement.
O'Farrell, along with fellow council members Herb Wesson Jr., Nury Martinez and Curren Price Jr., sent a letter to Kroenke about a month ago over the security costs, while also praising the team.
"The need for safety on our streets, in our subways and light rail stations and within the neighborhoods that you will be impacting cannot be overstated. It is imperative that the costs be fully covered and that only off-duty officers be employed," the council members said in their letter.
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They cited the L.A. Police Protective League, which had said that the LAPD already struggles to field enough officers to safely patrol the city.
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