Getty
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 24: Arsenal co-chairmen Stan Kroenke looks on during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal at Selhurst Park on May 24, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images For Premier League)
Denver Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke is adding Major League Baseball to one of the largest sports portfolios in the world.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment announced on September 1 that it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels from the Moreno family. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and approval from Major League Baseball.
For Nuggets fans, the deal represents another significant expansion by the ownership group behind Denver’s NBA franchise. The Angels would join a Kroenke sports empire that already includes the Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Rams, Colorado Rapids and Arsenal.
“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in the announcement. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.”
The agreement marks Kroenke’s first entry into Major League Baseball and ends Arte Moreno’s 23-year run as Angels owner.
Arte Moreno’s tenure as the Angels’ owner is over. Rams owner Stan Kroenke has purchased the team. From Kroenke’s side …
Stan Kroenke Adds Angels to Growing Sports Empire
The Angels will become another major piece of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the Denver-based holding company that operates the Nuggets and several other sports and entertainment properties.
Kroenke became owner of the Nuggets, Avalanche and their Denver arena in 2000.
The family’s portfolio has produced an unusual concentration of championships in recent years.
The Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl LVI in February 2022, the Avalanche captured the Stanley Cup that June and the Nuggets won the first NBA championship in franchise history in June 2023. KSE’s Colorado Mammoth also won the National Lacrosse League championship during that stretch.
The scale of Kroenke’s operation has continued to grow. Sports Business Journal reported in June that CNBC valued Kroenke Sports & Entertainment at $26.05 billion, calling it the most valuable multi-team sports ownership group.
Kroenke himself also ranks among the wealthiest owners in professional sports. Forbes estimated his real-time net worth at $24.3 billion as of August 31, 2026, citing his sports holdings, real estate portfolio and extensive land ownership.
Adding the Angels gives that portfolio another prominent Southern California asset alongside the Rams.
Arte Moreno’s Angels Tenure Ends After 23 Years
The acquisition also closes a lengthy chapter in Angels history.
Moreno bought the team in 2003, shortly after the franchise won its only World Series championship. His tenure began successfully, with the Angels winning five American League West titles and reaching two AL Championship Series from 2004 through 2009.
The following decade went much differently.
Despite employing generational stars including Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels failed to win another postseason game and endured losing seasons from 2016 through 2026.
The franchise entered September 2026 in the middle of another major transition. Interim general manager John Mozeliak has already reshaped the farm system, traded a significant portion of the major league roster, changed the organization’s draft approach and restructured portions of the front office. The Angels had clinched an 11th consecutive losing season before September began.
That means Kroenke and KSE are not merely acquiring another valuable sports property. They are inheriting a franchise that requires significant baseball rebuilding.
“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,” Moreno said in the transaction announcement.
Nuggets Remain Central Part of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
The Angels purchase does not change Kroenke’s position with the Nuggets.
Denver’s official organizational structure identifies Stan Kroenke as owner, while Josh Kroenke continues to hold a prominent leadership role as KSE vice chairman. When the Nuggets promoted Ben Tenzer and Jonathan Wallace to lead basketball operations in 2025, both Stan and Josh Kroenke were directly involved in announcing the new front-office structure.
That matters for Nuggets fans because the baseball purchase broadens KSE without separating the Kroenke family from Denver.
Instead, the Angels become the latest franchise connected to an ownership organization whose recent résumé includes championships in the NBA, NFL and NHL.
For Kroenke, the acquisition extends an already enormous sports footprint into another league. For the Nuggets, it further establishes Denver’s franchise as one of the central pieces of a sports empire that now stretches from Colorado to Southern California to North London.
Erik C. Anderson is an award-winning sports journalist covering the NBA, NFL, MLB and trading card market for Heavy.com. His coverage focuses on breaking news, trade rumors, roster moves, player contracts and the stories driving national fan conversation. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Associated Press, USA Today and ESPN. More about Erik C. Anderson