Arte Moreno bought the Los Angeles Angels in 2003, and his ownership will come to an end in 2026, as sports giant Stan Kroenke is buying the team.
Kroenke famously moved the then St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles. The departure of the Rams ended with a nasty legal battle with the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
Moreno has been looking to sell the Angels since the end of the 2022 season, but in 2024 announced he wanted to keep the team in his possession.
Bill Shaikin reported that the sale is a major league record price, more than the $3.9 billion price tag on the sale of the San Diego Padres.
Who Is New Los Angeles Angels Owner Stan Kroenke?
Apart from owning the Super Bowl favorite Rams, Kroenke owns six other teams across four different sports. The Angels will become Kroenke’s eighth professional team and the sixth sport he owns a franchise in.
Kroenke owns majority stakes in the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids of MLS, and Arsenal FC in the English Premier League.
Kroenke is a titan in every aspect, not only in the number of teams under his control but also in the quality of the teams under his control. The Rams are Super Bowl favorites, the Avalanche won a Stanley Cup in 2022, and were one of the best teams in the NHL last season. In 2023, the Nuggets won a championship, and earlier this summer, Arsenal won their first Premier League title in 22 years.
Angels fans should be excited to see an owner who has shown the dedication to excellence that Kroenke has to his teams.
Los Angeles Angels Commitment To Rebuilding
With the sale of the team, the Angels are fully embracing the rebuild. It will remain to be seen how Kroenke attacks the rebuild of the franchise, whether that is buying high now with stars or building from the bottom up through the farm.
The trade deadline was just the first step, as the Angels sold off many of the pieces for high-value returns to kick off the rebuild with strong footing.
Interim general manager John Mozeliak announced the restructuring of the scouting department and the promotion of Matt Swanson and Michael Lord to assistant general managers on Monday.
A massive organization-wide overhaul is happening in Anaheim right now, and the sale was the final piece needed to open the floodgates to build the team back up from the ground floor.
Los Angeles has gone without a playoff appearance since 2014, when they were swept by the Kansas City Royals. 2009 was the last season the Angels had a series win, or a playoff game win for that matter. The team is in the dark, and with the twilight of Mike Trout’s career growing dim, the Angels are on a quick timeline to do right by their franchise’s best player ever.
Arte Moreno Sells Los Angeles Angels To Sports Mega-Owner