After 23 years of largely unfulfilling ownership, Arte Moreno agreed to sell his Los Angeles Angels to Stan Kroenke. A billionaire real estate magnate who owns teams in nearly every major sports league, Kroenke is now the game’s richest owner, and his announced purchase sent joyous shockwaves through a beaten-down fanbase, even as the team is poised to finish off the worst season in its 65-year history.Much about what this $4 billion sale means for the Angels remains to be seen. But as the transition to new ownership begins, here are 10 pressing questions, and what to consider in answering them.Will the Angels spend?You don’t pay a record price for a baseball franchise to pinch pennies. Under Moreno, in recent years the Angels have operated as a small-market club. Moreno signed Anthony Rendon to a seven-year, $245 million deal in late 2019, with disastrous results. Since then, the largest Angels contract has been $63 million over three years to Yusei Kikuchi. The Angels should be a destination team for free agents — look no further than the likes of Paul Skenes, Freddie Freeman and Gerrit Cole, all of whom grew up as Angels fans. Players of that caliber could and should be fair game under new ownership.Ultimately, the next collective bargaining agreement will determine the state of play. But in lieu of those answers, it’s to be expected that the sport’s richest owner will spend. Spend on free agents. Spend on extending young players. Spend on infrastructure, development, facilities, the works. All are areas where the Angels have been woefully and noticeably deficient for many years.Say what you want about Moreno. And boy, there is a lot to say. But at the very least, he seems to have left his team in good hands.Why now?This will be one of the most fascinating questions to be answered in the coming months, because the timing doesn’t make a ton of sense on its face. The Angels just elevated Molly Jolly to team president, and just appointed a new interim general manager in John Mozeliak. There was a foundation of change being laid, and it seemed there was optimism about a more viable path forward under the new internal leadership.Moreover, a new CBA, and a salary cap, could have helped raise franchise values writ large. More predictability could translate to higher values. So selling before that was litigated is surprising. But $4 billion is $4 billion. And at age 80, with his children uninterested in operating the team, Moreno’s sale was only a matter of time.This sale also came just nine months after the Angels settled a landmark wrongful death civil lawsuit. They paid out an undisclosed amount to the family of Tyler Skaggs, a pitcher who died of a fentanyl overdose in 2019 while with the team in Texas. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said his staff would review testimony from the three-month trial, but hasn’t commented on the matter since.What does this mean for the stadium?Potentially quite a bit. The current iteration of Angel Stadium is in need of significant upgrades, and Kroenke has a proven track record in this area. Look no further than SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, a beautiful facility that’s home to his Los Angeles Rams and a top venue for major LA-based events. He developed and owns the venue.
Ten pressing questions about the shocking $4 billion Los Angeles Angels sale
Will the Angels spend? What does this mean for the future of the stadium, the alumni, the front office and Mike Trout?












