What Stan Kroenke’s Ownership Means for the Angels
October 4, 2026 - Written by Zac Holladay
OFFICIAL: Kroenke Sports & Entertainment ("KSE") announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Angels Baseball Club from the Moreno Family. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to customary closing conditions and approval by Major League Baseball.
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) September 1, 2026
IT HAPPENED! Arte Moreno sold the team! What was deeply needed for the team finally transpired when Stan Kroenke bought a majority stake in the Los Angeles Angels on September 1st. This concludes a 23-year span in which Arte Moreno owned the team, during which the team won just 10 playoff games.
And while we could spend the time naming all the things that went wrong in the “Arte era,” we can answer the question of who Stan Kroenke is and how his ownership can help the Angels end their 12-year playoff drought.
Within major sports, Stan Kroenke owns multiple sports teams, including the Denver Nuggets (NBA), the Los Angeles Rams (NFL), and the Colorado Avalanche (NHL). Along with a few soccer teams and a lacrosse team, the Angels join the long list of teams on his resume.
The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022. The Nuggets won the NBA Finals in 2023. The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2022. All of these teams have won under Kroenke’s ownership. One of the biggest and most successful owners just bought the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, which could bring big, substantial changes in the near future.
Now, while Arte Moreno still owns a 5% stake in the Angels, this doesn’t change the fact that Stan Kroenke is the new majority owner, and he has the chance to turn the whole reputation of the team around. Yes, the Angels needed a new owner badly, as the “tarps-off” movement desperately boycotted. But neither the team nor the fans ever had aspirations of a specific owner, let alone one with a successful track record. The impact of Stan Kroenke is real and is already a major step up for the organization.
Take the Rams, for example. They are noted as one of the most anticipated teams to watch in the NFL going into the 2026-2027 season. They have their starting quarterback, Matthew Stafford, coming off an MVP season in which his team fell just short of another Super Bowl appearance.
They have acquired multiple top-tier talents over the offseason, including CB Trent McDuffie from the Kansas City Chiefs and former Defensive Player of the Year DE Myles Garrett. Adding these players to a roster that already had a Super Bowl-caliber team shows the organization’s dedication to winning championships. Yet, having these goals is a high bar to set for this Angels team at this time. This is what the fanbase of the Angels deserves.
As the goal is to win the final game of the year in the Fall Classic, this will not come immediately after new ownership. This Angels team has a lot of holes to fill, with no exact timeframe for when this team will be ready for the postseason. But done the right way, it can be reached faster than usual.
The Angels had a great start to their rebuild over the Trade Deadline, trading away key cornerstone players to attain some much-needed prospects. In MLB’s latest farm system rankings, the Angels placed 17th in the league, which was a massive jump from being previously placed at 28th.
The state of a minor league system is a crucial portion of building a successful team, as it is where you store your talent for the future. Prospects aren’t the same throughout their whole career; they are molded and formed. But before you form them, you have to have a strong scouting team to search and dig for high school and college guys with high potential. This ultimately leads to who the Angels draft.
The Angels have had a respectable amount of homegrown talent over the years, including Mike Trout, Reid Detmers, José Soriano, Zach Neto, etc. The guys you draft are your initial core. They are the guys that you can build around; they are the base of the team.
The Angels’ former core was dismantled over the Trade Deadline as guys like Jo Adell, Logan O’Hoppe, Chase Silseth, José Soriano, and Ryan Zeferjahn found new homes for the next few months and beyond. This was supposed to be a massive part of the Angels’ new era of success. But just as the business faced tough decisions, these tough decisions had to be made for this team.
While the Halos could’ve kept these players for their future, it was obvious that dramatic change had to be made to rebuild this team. With the new ownership, a new core will soon come. Whether it is in-house already, developed within the next few years, or acquired in future deadlines or offseasons, a successful team is on the horizon.
It is not likely that any big moves will be made to the roster as of this offseason. The first step to this new era is to rebuild the coaching staff. The managerial position is the most likely position to be replaced, however it is unknown whether the Angels will keerp current manager Kurt Suzuki. That being said a manager with previous managing experience and possible playoff experience would be nice.
After that, who knows what could happen? This new era for the Angels could take a while to develop or could come relatively quickly. The White Sox clinched a playoff spot just two years after losing over 120 games. It is possible to have a relatively quick turnaround.
But we shouldn’t be hoping for big spending very soon, as New York Mets owner Steve Cohen did when he became their owner. The bottom line is that great things are expected to come, but patience is also needed for this team to develop.
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