How billionaire Stan Kroenke built the most dominant empire in sport

Stan Kroenke and his Kroenke Sports and Entertainment (KSE) group has become one of the most dominant and valuable sporting empires in the world over the past decade, with major championships in almost every sport, but what have they won, and how did they do it?

Kroenke is a multi-billionaire who built his fortune through commercial real estate, along with his wife, Ann Walton who is herself a billionaire as an heiress to the Walmart group.

Kroenke started his sporting empire way back in 1995 when he purchased a small stake in the St. Louis Rams who would go on to win their first Super Bowl in the 1999 season with Kurt Warner leading ‘The Great Show on Turf’ to victory against the Tennessee Titans.

By 2000 Kroenke decided he needed to grow his sporting empire, buying both the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche.

In the first season under Kroenke, the Avalanche had a truly great year, going 52–16–10–4 and beating the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals. How much credit we can give to Kroenke for this title is unknown, but certainly not a bad way to start.

The Nuggets had been through a long period of struggle before the involvement of Kroenke, and after a few years of struggles, the franchise was the first to qualify for the postseason following a sub-20 win in NBA history. First-round draft pick, Carmelo Anthony was a big part of this success.

By this point, Kroenke had organized his sporting empire into Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, which, in 2007 purchased 12.19% of Arsenal football club with the aim to become majority shareholders.

2010 saw Kroenke and KSE complete the purchase of the Rams, given NFL rules ownership, and stakes were now placed in the names of Stan’s son Josh, and his wife Ann.

Kroenke battled for years to complete the purchase of Arsenal, with Alsiher Usmanov also attempting to buy a majority stake. Eventually, KSE won out and by August of 2018, KSE were able to buy Usmanov’s shares and complete a full takeover of the club.

KSE is not only limited to the Premier League, NFL, NBA, and NHL, they also have teams competing in Major League Soccer (Colorado Rapids), National Lacrosse League(Colorado Mammoth), Overwatch League (Los Angeles Gladiators), and Call of Duty League (Los Angeles Guerrillas).

According to Forbes, KSE has become the second most valuable sporting empire in the world, with total assets valued at $12.75 billion. This is due in part to owning the stadiums and arenas of all his major teams, including the SoFi Stadium in LA which cost nearly $5 billion to develop.

Many owners see sports teams as a chance to live out a childhood fantasy, sort of like playing Madden or FIFA but in real life, others see it as a chance to develop and grow their investment portfolio. Kroenke is somewhere in between, he is very willing to splash the cash, but there is a degree to which every move is calculated for the long-term gain of KSE and his net worth.

Kroenke has always been willing to take a chance on a young, and or inexperienced head coach. Perhaps most famously was the signing of Sean McVay to run the Rams, a bright young offensive mind who immediately turned the team into contenders. But hiring Mikel Arteta at Arsenal also showed an understanding of forward planning and hiring the ‘next’ guy rather than an established big name.

From 2017 onwards, Sean McVay has led the Rams with one goal in mind, to win the Super Bowl and Stan Kroenke was backing him every step of the way. Willing to sacrifice future assets to build around superstar defensive tackle Aaron Donald, the Rams eventually won in the 2021 season after trading for QB Matthew Stafford.

Just a few months after the Rams completed their Super Bowl victory, another of KSE’s assets was celebrating a championship. Again, Kroenke was very willing to let the team make the big splashes it needed to back up established stars, with money no object as the Avalanche cruised to a Stanley Cup victory in 2022.

The Denver Nuggets had never previously been to an NBA Finals before this year but behind two-time MVP Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets not only got to the Finals, but comfortably beat the Miami Heat 4-1 to claim their first NBA Championship.

Arsenal is one of the most storied clubs in England, but despite their history have been in a prolonged lull. Despite winning four FA Cups recently, the goal for a club of Arsenal’s size is to win the Premier League and the 22/23 season saw them come closer than they have for many years. With KSE’s investment behind them, who knows what the future holds?