A fan base lets out a collective sigh somewhere between the social media announcement and the stadium crowd witnessing a last-place team lose yet another Tuesday night game. On September 1, 2026, Angels supporters experienced that moment. They finally got what they wanted, and more, after years of yelling “Sell the team” loud enough to shake the Big A’s light towers.
The 79-year-old billionaire Stan Kroenke, who was born in Missouri, has agreed to buy the Los Angeles Angels from Arte Moreno. Kroenke has managed to amass professional sports teams in a manner similar to how other affluent individuals amass vacation homes. The San Diego Padres’ $3.9 billion sale earlier this year was surpassed by the reported price of $4 billion, setting a new MLB record. The agreement is anticipated to close in early 2027, pending MLB approval.
The price isn’t the only thing that stands out. It’s the individual making the payment. In the English Premier League, Kroenke already owns the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rapids, Colorado Mammoth, and Arsenal Football Club.
As of June 2026, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, his holding company, was worth more than $26 billion. He is now the only sports owner with teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB at the same time after adding the Angels. His personal net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $24.3 billion, making him the richest owner in baseball history.
It’s a lot to deal with. The Angels, who haven’t won since 2015 and last qualified for the playoffs in 2014, finished last in their division in both 2024 and 2025. In 2026, they will do it once more. This team has served as a warning for over ten years because, despite having the greatest player of his generation in Mike Trout, they have been unable to construct anything around him. Fans became resentful. Slowly, then suddenly, Moreno’s relationship with his fan base deteriorated.
To his credit, Moreno made history in 2003 when he paid $180 million to acquire the Angels from the Walt Disney Company, making history as the country’s first Mexican-American owner of a major professional sports team. The early years went well. From 2004 to 2009, there were five division titles, actual playoff baseball, and true excitement. However, a lot of that goodwill was erased over the past ten years, and by the last seasons, the chants to sell had evolved into more of a ritual than a protest.
It is worthwhile to take a close look at Kroenke’s history with failing teams. He fully acquired the Rams in 2010, moved them to Los Angeles, used $1.8 billion of his own funds to construct SoFi Stadium, and saw the team win the Super Bowl in 2022. In 2023, the Nuggets—owned by his family—won the NBA Finals. In 2022, the Avalanche also took home the Stanley Cup. After winning the Women’s Champions League, Arsenal—long a source of annoyance for Premier League fans—is now truly competitive once more.
Winning doesn’t always translate to other sports. Baseball has its own unique failures, front-office cultures, and rhythms. However, there’s a feeling—fragile, perhaps naive, but genuine—that Kroenke offers Anaheim something unique. Clearly, resources. but also a proven readiness to make investments in people and facilities. When questioned about the sale, Mike Trout merely stated, “It was needed.” Not a resounding endorsement of the past. However, there was a hint of relief.
The question that remains unanswered is whether Kroenke can truly make the Angels contenders before Trout’s prime years are completely over. The agreement hasn’t even been finalized. However, the fact that someone with actual championship credentials is taking over feels like the first truly positive news in a long time to a fan base that has been waiting, chanting, and gradually losing faith.
