The Los Angeles Angels will have a new owner pending approval from Major League Baseball’s board of governors, after longtime owner Arte Moreno agreed to sell controlling interest of the team. Stan Kroenke, who already owns the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Los Angeles Rams and Arsenal FC have entered into agreement with the franchise for a sale at a $4B valuation.
“The Angels are a storied franchise anchored in a great market,” Kroenke said in a statement released by both the Angels and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. “We look forward to an exciting future with the Angels organization.” According to the release, the sale is estimated to close during the first quarter of 2027, pending league approval.
“The Angels organization is pleased to announce this transaction with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment,” Moreno said in a statement. “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.”
Moreno originally put the franchise up for sale back in 2022, but changed course shortly thereafter, backing out of a potential deal a few months later. The current ownership group has faced heavy criticism in their handling of the franchise in recent years from both players, and the fanbase alike. With Moreno now 80 years old, it appears as though the league’s first Latino majority owner is ready to exit the baseball business altogether.
Franchise icon Mike Trout was diplomatic in his response to news of the sale, but didn’t hide the fact that he believes it’s a positive step forward for the team. “Seeing the reaction from the fans and some of the guys and the whole vibe, I think it was needed for a fresh start,” said Trout. “The biggest thing is getting that feeling of getting that winning culture back and having that vibe in the clubhouse.”
Kroenke’s teams have thrived both on and off the field of play in recent years, signing lucrative endorsement and broadcast deals, while also firmly in the mix for championships each season. The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2022 and are the betting favourites to do so again in 2026. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup that same year, followed by an NBA championship for the Nuggets a year later. Meanwhile Arsenal are the reigning Premier League champions across the ocean, and have begun their 2026-27 season with a perfect 2-0 record.
For the Angels, the team was a perennial powerhouse in the early 2000’s, winning the 2002 World Series, and then stringing together 5 divisional titles in a 6 year span between 2004-2009. Unfortunately, they’ve since made the playoffs just a single time, losing 3 straight games to the Royals, back in 2014.
This string of on field futility has largely wasted the primes of both Trout and Shohei Ohtani’s careers, leading to the latter leaving town to join the Dodgers in 2024. With new ownership in place, and a drastic overhaul of the team’s baseball operations department, it would appear as though better times are finally on the horizon for an Angels fanbase that’s been starved of playoff baseball for over a decade.
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