Kroenke Sports & Entertainment are on the cusp of completing sport.
In the last five years, the American company — owned and headed up by Stan Kroenke, a multi-billionaire, and Josh, his son — has overseen the LA Rams winning the Super Bowl and Colorado Avalanche lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022, and the Denver Nuggets capturing their first-ever NBA Championship in 2023.
It can now add the Premier League to its bustling trophy cabinet, after Arsenal, led by Mikel Arteta, sealed the title on Tuesday for the first time in over two decades, even fending off a wobble and late charge from Manchester City.
Plenty of wealthy owners, be it in the NFL, the Premier League or the NBA, have shown how difficult it is to be successful with just one club, so for KSE to have achieved what they have across multiple sports is nothing short of remarkable.
Although it was prior to this current run, KSE’s MLS side, the Colorado Rapids, won the MLS Cup in 2010, so all that is left for them to win now from a major trophy standpoint is the Champions League — and they have the chance to do that in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.
Furthermore, should Arsenal overcome defending champions PSG in Budapest on May 30, KSE would have helped to deliver something the club has never been able to achieve in its history.
Arsenal players celebrate winning the league on Tuesday (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
After a bumpy start to their full ownership of Arsenal in 2018, which prompted the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust (AST) to mark it as a “dreadful day” for the club, for Stan, the 78-year-old who is nicknamed ‘Silent Stan’ as he keeps a low profile and seldom gives interviews, and Josh, they hope this is just the start.
In a joint message from the pair, which was published on Arsenal’s website before Monday night’s game against Burnley, their final home match of the season, they made clear that they want this to signal a new era of dominance at the north London club.
“We will give everything we’ve got to win major trophies and you can rest assured that everyone at the club will continue the hard work to make the coming weeks unforgettable,” the message read.
“The connection we feel with our supporters fills us with pride. Between us, we are building something very special and, wherever this month of May takes us, there will be no standing still when the season ends.
“We are always forward in our approach, taking the learnings as we go and relentless in the pursuit of progress.”
An ownership group discussing its “pride” in the connection it feels with club supporters can often feel manufactured and forced, but you do not have to look too far back to see that being able to reflect on such a sentiment was not remotely feasible at Arsenal.
KSE was not exactly greeted with open arms when it took full ownership of the club in 2018, forcing supporters into selling their shares as part of its takeover deal when acquiring Alisher Usmanov’s minority stake.
The AST released a statement condemning the deal, describing it as a “dreadful day for the football club”. There were also significant fan protests against KSE’s ownership when it signed up for the failed European Super League in 2021.
Arsenal fans protest against the Kroenkes in May 2021 over the European Super League project (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
So, to say it has been nothing but plain sailing for the American owners in north London would be wide of the mark.
There has, however, been a marked shift in recent years when it comes to Josh being the visible presence from KSE at certain fixtures throughout the season, Stan remains heavily engaged and the final say on key matters, such as transfers, still rests with him alongside his son.
One former Arsenal executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, described the Kroenkes as “the best owners in sport in terms of empowering, trusting and giving authority and support to those they put in place”.
It is a repetitive story across their sporting portfolio.
Similar to what has organically happened at the Emirates in recent years, it is now not uncommon for Josh to take on a more prominent role from a KSE standpoint, yet micromanaging the respective leadership groups in place at the LA Rams, Arsenal, Colorado Rapids, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche is not how they approach ownership.
Josh, however, did become de facto day-to-day manager of the Nuggets for several months during the 2024-25 season after sacking head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
At the Rams, KSE are not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation, and a key reason for that is down to the trust they have in Les Snead, the general manager, and Sean McVay, the head coach, along with other trusted executives at the NFL franchise.
Josh Kroenke has been a lot more hands on with the Nuggets (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
It is not just on the court or pitch where KSE is seemingly reaping the rewards, though.
Stan’s expansive real estate portfolio spans from sprawling ranches in the U.S. to the Emirates Stadium in north London.
And in SoFi Stadium, one of the most impressive venues in the United States and home of the Rams, they have already hosted a Super Bowl in 2022 and will host another in 2027, as well as staging the opening and closing ceremonies at the LA28 Olympic Games.
Although the Emirates is still a great venue, it is now 20 years old and beginning to show its age. The brilliance of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium across north London has only made Arsenal’s home look more dated.
But KSE, who are well versed in real estate, have been giving some thought about what they can do at the Emirates from a redevelopment viewpoint, especially as they are trying to maximise the club’s revenue streams.
Should they eventually choose to increase the capacity and modernise and digitise the stadium experience, you would only expect that to further solidify the good feeling that has been created between themselves and the club’s supporters.
They can in effect complete football with a Champions League victory, so improving the Emirates and turning it into a future-proof venue that generates significant revenues for the club could pave the way to even more success.
