Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the Los Angeles Angels, adding a Major League Baseball franchise to a massive sports portfolio that already features the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, and Arsenal F.C., according to announcements from both the organization and longtime owner Arte Moreno.
The transaction, announced on Tuesday, shifts control of the Anaheim-based franchise after Moreno stewarded the club for 23 years. While formal financial terms of the deal were not publicly released in the initial corporate statements, Variety’s sibling outlet Sportico pegged the purchase price at approximately $4 billion. That valuation marks a modest increase from the $3.9 billion sale price commanded earlier this year by the San Diego Padres.
Approval of the sale now rests with Major League Baseball owners and executives. Both parties expect the transaction to formally close during the first quarter of 2027, according to statements released by the organizations.
Stan Kroenke Expands Southern California Footprint
For E. Stanley Kroenke, owner and chairman of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the acquisition anchors another major asset in the lucrative Southern California market. The organization’s regional footprint already spans the NFL’s Rams, SoFi Stadium, and the 300-acre Hollywood Park mixed-use development district in Inglewood, California—a complex designated to host events for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
"The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market. We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization," Kroenke said in a statement provided to the media.
KSE’s broader operational empire includes the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, the Colorado Rapids of MLS, the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League, and England’s Arsenal Football Club. Excluding the Rapids, every franchise under the KSE umbrella has captured a league championship since 2022, a competitive track record that will likely resonate with an Angels fanbase starved for sustained success.
Major League Baseball records show the franchise originated in 1961 as the expansion Los Angeles Angels. The club transitioned through several monikers over the decades, spending 32 years as the California Angels starting in 1965 before becoming the Anaheim Angels in 1997. Under Moreno’s watch, the team briefly changed its name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 before shortening it back to the Los Angeles Angels in 2016.
Arte Moreno Era Concludes Amid Fan Frustration
Arte Moreno purchased the franchise from the Walt Disney Company in 2003 for roughly $185 million, coming on the heels of the club’s improbable 2002 World Series championship. Disney offloaded the asset at the time to sharpen its corporate focus on core studio and theme park operations.
The early years of Moreno’s ownership brought immediate competitiveness, but the franchise’s trajectory flattened considerably over the last decade and a half. The Angels have not won a postseason game since 2009, and their lone playoff appearance since drafting and promoting three-time American League MVP Mike Trout in 2012 resulted in a sweep by the Kansas City Royals in 2014.
Despite fielding elite individual talent—including two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who claimed two MVP awards in Anaheim before departing in free agency for the crosstown rival Los Angeles Dodgers in 2023—the front office struggled to build a consistent playoff contender. Those frustrations boiled over among supporters in recent seasons, manifesting in public demonstrations and fan-led movements at Angel Stadium demanding a change in ownership.
Moreno first initiated an exploratory sale process for the franchise in 2022 before pulling it back, but returning to the market ultimately yielded a deal with KSE.
"The Angels Organization is pleased to announce this transaction with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment," Moreno said in a joint statement. "The Moreno family is proud to have overseen the Angels for the past 23 years, and given KSE’s proven track record and expertise, we are confident they represent the ideal successor to run the team. The organization remains fully dedicated to delivering for our supporters, staff, athletes, and commercial partners."
Stadium Infrastructure and Immediate Outlook
As the franchise prepares to transition ownership heading toward 2027, questions remain regarding stadium infrastructure. Angel Stadium in Anaheim has faced ongoing scrutiny as the facility ages, making stadium renovations or the securing of a new ballpark a likely priority for the incoming ownership group. KSE has not yet addressed whether the organization intends to keep the team playing in Anaheim or alter the club’s geographic designation.
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