Stan Kroenke's Investment History Holds Clues for Angel Stadium's Future

One day after Forbes reported Stan Kroenke intended to build a $2.5 billion stadium to replace Angel Stadium, the reporter corrected his initial report, saying "a spokesperson for Kroenke said the company was not ready to move forward on a new ballpark at this time, but might in the future."

Even if the initial report had not caused confusion, one question will follow Kroenke's agreement to purchase the Angels from Arte Moreno until it's official: what is the future of Angel Stadium under the new owner?

A closer examination of Kroenke's past purchases reveals, unsurprisingly, a real estate magnate focused just as much on building or renovating sports arenas as owning the teams that call them home.

Will Stan Kroenke follow the SoFi Stadium plan for a new Angel Stadium?

Fans who have followed Kroenke's ownership of the Los Angeles Rams are familiar with the crown jewel of his sports stadium portfolio.

After acquiring majority control of the NFL franchise in 2010, Kroenke acquired land at the former Hollywood Park site in Inglewood. He later proposed bringing the Rams back to Los Angeles around a new stadium.

The NFL approved relocation in January 2016. Groundbreaking for SoFi Stadium/Hollywood Park began later that year. What followed could be the blueprint for transforming the Angel Stadium site.

The Rams describe SoFi as a 3.1-million-square-foot stadium anchoring an urban village. The Kroenke development also includes YouTube Theater, the NFL's West Coast headquarters, residential developments, retail/commercial spaces, a hotel, parkland, and pedestrian/bicycle infrastructure.

The City of Anaheim leases the Angel Stadium property to the team. If the 153-acre site follows the Rams blueprint, Kroenke's purchase of the Angels is only the first step: buy the team, control the land, build a stadium, then develop the surrounding real estate.

What about Stan Kroenke's other sports teams?

One of the most revealing things about the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment portfolio is its relationship to the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Pepsi Center. Kroenke did not merely buy an NBA and NHL team. He bought the teams, their shared arena, their related media properties, then scooped up the surrounding real estate opportunities.

A 2002 Sports Business Journal profile laid out this strategy before it became a blueprint for many sports-business ventures.

Kroenke purchased the Nuggets, Avalanche and a nine-month-old Pepsi Center in 2000. Two years later, he bought the Colorado Mammoth of the NLL and partnered on a purchase of the Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League. Within three years of its construction, the KS&E venue had a total of four tenants.

Kroenke first became an Arsenal shareholder in 2007, increasing his ownership of the English Premier League team until KS&E obtained full ownership in 2018. Earlier this year, Josh Kroenke (Stan Kroenke's son) confirmed that Arsenal was developing an Emirates Stadium renovation plan.

When might Stan Kroenke replace or renovate Angel Stadium?

The next iteration of Angel Stadium might not reveal itself in one year, two years, or even eight.

In September 2003, Kroenke bought the MLS's Colorado Rapids from Philip Anschutz. The transaction came with an explicit stadium plan: KS&E said it intended to build a soccer-specific stadium for the team.

Dick's Sporting Goods Park — a project that included the MLS venue and 24-field youth soccer complex — broke ground in 2005 and opened in 2007. Commerce City, Colorado owned the venue, with KS&E as its operator. Commerce City was responsible for funding the infrastructure and bond financing. Kroenke's development team supplied the project leadership.

But the city's hopes for a surrounding entertainment district have gone unfilled for nearly two decades, even after KS&E tapped HOK, the global design firm responsible for developing The Battery district around Truist Park (the Atlanta Braves' home venue).

In September 2023, Josh Kroenke publicly said KSE would be finalizing the Victory Crossing master plan within several months, with the intention of presenting it to supporters and the community in early 2024.

Two years later, no shovel-ready project has been presented publicly. For Angels fans, the critical takeaway is that Kroenke development projects don't happen overnight — despite what the massive transformation in nearby Inglewood might have you believe.

In his "Huddle Up" newsletter, Joe Pompliano hypothesized Wednesday that Kroenke "is trying to take advantage of a weak lease agreement to buy hundreds of acres in Orange County for pennies on the dollar."

Alternately, Neil deMause asked a more pointed question on his Field of Schemes website: "Who wants us to believe that Kroenke has a $2.5 billion Anaheim stadium up his sleeve, and why are they trying to disseminate that information via Forbes — and what changed over several hours yesterday that Forbes had to take down the claim?"

What we know, from Kroenke's history over the last two decades, is that Angel Stadium will not continue in its present state after he officially takes the franchise from Arte Moreno. If Kroenke doesn't take advantage of his vast experience in real estate development to work with the city of Anaheim on a massive change to the Angel Stadium site, it will mark an out-of-character abdication of his real-estate investment expertise.

What will that change will look like, who will pay for it, and when fans will see the transformation to completion remain to be seen.

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