Kroenke Sports + Entertainment to acquire controlling interest in Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno

Kroenke Sports + Entertainment announced Tuesday that it will buy a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno in a deal that is expected to close in the first quarter ⁠of 2027.

The sale will require the approval of Major League Baseball and its owners.

According to ESPN, the Angels sold for $4bn, beating the previous MLB record of $3.9bn set in the sale of the San Diego Padres earlier this year. Moreno bought the Angels for $183.5m in 2003.

Kroenke Sports + Entertainment is run by Stan Kroenke and is the owner of the NFL’s Los ⁠Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and MLS’s Colorado Rapids, in addition to Arsenal of the English Premier League.

The entity, which is based in Denver, also owns a professional lacrosse team based in Colorado ⁠as well as Arsenal’s women’s team.

Kroenke also developed a 300-acre property just south of Los Angeles in Inglewood, California that includes SoFi Stadium, which ​is home to the Rams. SoFi Stadium was built for more ‌than $5bn and opened in 2020. It ‌will play host to its second Super Bowl at the end of the upcoming NFL season as well as the 2028 Summer Olympics/Paralympics.

When Moreno ‌bought the Angels in 2003, he became the first Mexican American to own a major sports franchise in the United States.

Moreno took over the team one year after it won the World Series under ownership by the Walt Disney Co. The Angels advanced to the playoffs in five of the first seven years after Moreno became owner but have made the postseason just once in the past 16 seasons and has not won a playoff game in that time.

The Angels have been led by outfielder Mike Trout since 2011, but the 12-time All-Star ‌has seen the playoffs just once when the Angels were swept in a best- of-five series in 2014 against the Kansas City Royals. Trout was a teammate with Shohei Ohtani for six seasons but the duo never made it ​to the postseason.

Between 2014 and 2023, Trout and Ohtani combined to win five MVP Awards while wearing an Angels uniform but the team never made the postseason. In 2018 alone, Ohtani was the American League Rookie of the Year while Trout finished second in MVP voting.

“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a release. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.“

Disgruntled fans have taken to protesting during games this season. Groups of young fans take to the upper deck in the right ​field corner, take their shorts off, wave them over ​their heads and implore Moreno to “sell the team,” among ​other nightly chants.

The Angels are just 53-85 heading into Tuesday and are headed for their 11th consecutive ​losing season.

During the 2022 season, ‌Moreno said he would ​explore the possibility of selling the ​Angels but less than one year later he abandoned that plan.

“The Angels organization is pleased to announce this transaction with Kroenke Sports + Entertainment,” Moreno said in Tuesday’s news release. “The Moreno family has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years and we believe with KSE’s experience and success they are the best next owner for the franchise. The Angels organization looks forward to continuing its commitment to the fans, our employees, the players and our business ‌partners.”