Stan Kroenke

Stan Kroenke
Born Enos Stanley Kroenke
(1947-07-29) July 29, 1947
Columbia, Missouri
Other names Silent Stan [1]
Education B.A. University of Missouri, 1969
B.S. University of Missouri
MBA. University of Missouri
Occupation Owner of Los Angeles Rams
Owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises
Chairman of THF Realty'
Owner of Colorado Mammoth'
Founder of Kroenke Group
Owner of Colorado Rapids
Owner of Arsenal F.C.
Net worth SteadyUS$7.7 billion (February 2016)[2]
Political party Republican[3]
Religion Christian[4]
Spouse(s) Ann Walton Kroenke (1973–present)
Children 2, son Josh and daughter Whitney Ann
Family Walton

Enos Stanley "Stan" Kroenke (/ˈkroʊŋki/; born July 29, 1947) is an American business entrepreneur. He is the owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, which includes the Denver Nuggets of the NBA, Colorado Avalanche of the NHL, Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League and the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL (the Colorado sports properties are in the name of Josh Kroenke, one of his children, to satisfy NFL ownership restrictions that forbid a team owner from owning teams in other markets). Kroenke is also the largest shareholder of English football club Arsenal.

Kroenke is named after St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers Enos "Country" Slaughter and Stan "The Man" Musial. His wife, Ann Walton Kroenke, is the daughter of Walmart co-founder James "Bud" Walton. Kroenke was estimated to be worth $US 7.7 billion by Forbes in 2015.


Personal life

Kroenke obtained a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Missouri.

Kroenke accrued significant wealth when he and his wife Ann inherited a stake in Wal-Mart upon the death of Bud Walton. As of September 2015, that stake is worth $4.8 billion.[5]

He grew up in tiny Mora, Missouri, where his father owned a lumber yard.[6][7][8] He is of German descent and was raised Lutheran.[8]

Real estate

He founded the Kroenke Group in 1983, a real estate development firm that has built numerous shopping centers and apartment buildings. Since his marriage to Walton, he has been in the special position to develop many of the plazas near Wal-Mart stores. He is also the chairman of THF Realty, an independent real estate development company that specializes in suburban development. He founded this corporation in St. Louis in 1991.

Kroenke Sports Enterprises

Kroenke is a well-known sports mogul. As the head and owner of Kroenke Sports Enterprises, he bought a 40-percent stake in the National Football League's St. Louis Rams after their relocation to Missouri in 1995. In 2000, he became full owner of both the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche, purchasing the teams from Charlie Lyons' Ascent Entertainment Group. In 2002, he partnered with Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Bronco quarterback John Elway to become part-owner of the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush. He continued to grow his sports empire in 2004 when he purchased the National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids from Phil Anschutz.

In 2010, Kroenke exercised his right of first refusal to buy the remaining interest in the Rams from the estate of late owner Georgia Frontiere.[9] On August 25, 2010, he became full owner of the Rams by unanimous consent of the NFL. To gain approval from NFL owners, Kroenke agreed to turn over control of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his son, Josh, by the end of 2010, and he had to give up his majority stake in both teams in December 2014. The NFL does not allow its owners to hold majority control of major league teams in other NFL markets.[10] On October 7, 2015, the NFL approved transfer of his ownership stake of the Avalanche and Nuggets to his wife, Ann Walton Kroenke.[11]

Kroenke Sports Enterprise also owns Pepsi Center in Denver, home of the Nuggets and Avalanche, and co-owns Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, home of the Rapids. Both venues were built by his development company. In 2004, Kroenke launched his own competitor to FSN Rocky Mountain (now known as Root Sports Rocky Mountain), Altitude, a new regional sports network which became the official broadcaster for both of Kroenke's teams on launch. Kroenke also established TicketHorse, a ticket company that provides in-house sales for all of his teams.

Kroenke is a somewhat reclusive man. He is popularly known as "Silent Stan" because he almost never gives interviews to the press.[10] He rarely interferes in his teams' day-to-day operations.

Kroenke is the largest shareholder of Premier League football (soccer) club Arsenal. Arsenal already had a technical link-up with Kroenke's Colorado Rapids when in April 2007 Granada Ventures, a subsidiary of ITV plc, had sold its 9.9-percent stake in Arsenal Holdings plc to Kroenke's KSE UK inc.[12] Kroenke went on to buy further shares in the club, taking his total stake up to 12.19 percent.[13] The club's board initially expressed skepticism that a bid would be in its best interests,[14] but gradually warmed to him as part of counteracting Alisher Usmanov's rival bid for the club.

By June 2008 the board had prepared to let Kroenke take over the club,[15] and on 19 September 2008 it was officially announced that Kroenke had joined the Arsenal board of directors.[16] Kroenke had a beneficial interest in, and controlled voting rights, over 18,594 shares, representing 29.9 percent of the issued shares. Thus, he was nearing the maximum 29.99-percent threshold, beyond which he would be forced to make an offer for all remaining shares.[17]

On 10 April 2011, it was reported that Kroenke was in advanced talks to complete the takeover of Arsenal.[18][19] The following day, it was announced that he increased his shareholding in Arsenal to 62.89 percent by purchasing the stakes of Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, and agreed to make an offer for the rest of the club at £11,750 per share, valuing the club at £731M.[20][21]

St. Louis Rams Relocation to Los Angeles

On April 13, 1995, Stan Kroenke helped Georgia Frontiere move the Los Angeles Rams from Anaheim to St. Louis by purchasing a 30% share of the team.[22]

In April 2010, Stan Kroenke said: "I'm going to attempt to do everything that I can to keep the Rams in St. Louis. Just as I did everything that I could to bring the team to St. Louis in 1995. I believe my actions speak for themselves."[23]

In February 2013, the Rams and the City of St. Louis went to arbitration over a clause in the Rams lease that stated the Rams current stadium must be in the top tier of NFL Stadiums. The arbitrators agreed with the Rams, giving the Rams the ability to break their original lease and go to a year to year lease agreement.[24]

On November 30, 2015, Stan Kroenke met with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon at Rams Park in Earth City, Missouri.[25]

On January 5, 2015, it was announced that the Kroenke Group was teaming up with Stockbridge Capital Group to build a 70,000 seat NFL stadium and venue in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, threatening the Rams' future in St. Louis. In response, St. Louis countered with National Car Rental Field, a proposed open-air stadium in the north riverfront in downtown St. Louis with the hope of the Rams staying in St. Louis.[26] The fanbase in St. Louis felt it was not being treated fairly—in 2014 the St. Louis Rams had 86% attendance despite a 6-10 record and 10 prior years of non-win seasons.,[27] forcing fans and local sportswriters to question the integrity of the NFL and Kroenke for even considering the Los Angeles plans.[28] St. Louis officials felt they were not receiving fair treatment either as Kroenke has (to date) had no talks or discussions with city officials, who have expressed interest in keeping the team in St. Louis. In a radio interview, Kroenke was labeled as "enemy number one" in his home state due to his uncanny willingness to cooperate.[29] NFL Commissioner Roger Godell also stated that St. Louis funding did not meet the criteria set by the NFL, even though St. Louis offered a stadium plan lacking 100 million dollars, but then ultimately gave 300m to Oakland and San Diego for their markets.[30]

The Oakland Raiders and San Diego Chargers are also unhappy with old stadiums (O.co Coliseum in Oakland, California and Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California respectively) lacking updated amenities and were proposing a stadium in Carson, California, another suburb of Los Angeles, in competition with Kroenke's Inglewood proposal.

On January 4, 2016, all three teams applied for relocation to Los Angeles for the 2016 NFL season.[31] The following day, the Rams and Stan Kroenke released their proposal for relocation. Some of the Rams' conclusions were disputed by the Mayor of St. Louis Francis Slay (in a letter to Roger Goodell),[32] The St. Louis Regional Chamber,[33] and Forbes.[34]

On January 12, 2016, the NFL approved the Rams' application to relocate from St. Louis back to Los Angeles with a 30-2 vote and Kroenke was praised by other NFL owners afterwards, although the move was generally considered malicious by fans in St. Louis.[35][36]

The following day, officials were pondering Stan Kroenke's removal from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.[37]

Other businesses

In 2006, Kroenke, in partnership with the money manager Charles Banks, acquired the Napa Valley winery Screaming Eagle. (In April 2009, Banks said he was no longer involved with Screaming Eagle.)[38]

Kroenke is a major owner of working ranches, owning a total of 848,631 acres. The Land Report magazine ranked him as the United States' ninth-largest landowner in 2015.[39][40] Among notable purchases is his February 2016 acquisition of the famous Waggoner Ranch in Texas, the largest ranch within one fenceline.[41]

References

  1. ↑ "Silent Stan shakes up St. Louis, L.A.". nbcsports.com. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. ↑ Real Time Ranking (1970-01-01). "Stanley Kroenke". Forbes. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  3. ↑ "PAGE BY PAGE REPORT DISPLAY FOR 20036560003 (Page 5976 of 6121)". Images.nictusa.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  4. ↑ "Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke pays price for low profile". Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  5. ↑ "Forbes List: #79 Ann Walton Kroenke". Forbes. September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Fenno, Nathan (January 17, 2015). "Stan Kroenke finishes what he starts; will finish line be in L.A.?". The Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Jeremy (September 30, 2011). "The life and times of Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke". The Telegraph.
  8. 1 2 Longman, Jere (January 14, 2010). "From an Owner to the Quietest Sports Emperor". The New York Times.
  9. ↑ "Arsenal shareholder Stan Kroenke to purchase NFL side St Louis Rams". London: The Daily Telegraph. 13 April 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  10. 1 2 "Stan Kroenke is new Rams owner". ESPN. 25 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "NFL owners let Kroenke keep Rams; transfer Nuggets, Avalanche to his wife". Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "Kroenke buys stake in Arsenal". Soccernet.espn.go.com. 2007-04-05. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  13. ↑ "Arsenal Holdings plc - Holding(s) in Company". PLUS Markets Group. 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
  14. ↑ "Arsenal chairman to meet Kroenke". BBC. 2007-04-28. Retrieved 2007-04-28.
  15. ↑ Harris, Nick (2008-06-20). "Arsenal put Kroenke in position to take over club". London: Independent. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
  16. ↑ Main (2008-09-19). "Kroenke Welcomed On Board". Goal.com. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  17. ↑ "Business | Kroenke nears Arsenal threshold". BBC News. 2009-11-05. Retrieved 2009-11-05.
  18. ↑ Archived March 21, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ "Exclusive: Kroenke poised for Control of Arsenal FC". Sky News. 2011-04-10. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  20. ↑ "Kroenke mounts Arsenal takeover". BBC News. 2011-04-11.
  21. ↑ "Recommended Offer by KSE For Arsenal Holdings | News Archive | News". Arsenal.com. 2011-05-06. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  22. ↑ "NFL Owners OK Rams' Move to St. Louis". Los Angeles Times. 13 April 1995. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Kroenke's pledge to keep the Rams in St. Louis". St. Louis Post Dispatch. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  24. ↑ http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/02/02/rams-win-stadium-arbitration/
  25. ↑ "Intrigue at Rams Park: Kroenke meets with Nixon". St. Louis Post Dispatch. November 30, 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Farmer, Sam; Vincent, Roger (5 January 2015). "Owner of St. Louis Rams plans to build NFL stadium in Inglewood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  27. ↑ "2014 NFL Football Attendance - National Football League". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2016-01-12.
  28. ↑ Caesar, Dan (2015-02-15). "St. Louis fans praised for supporting lousy Rams". St. Louis Post Dispatch. Retrieved 2015-02-15.
  29. ↑ Roggin, Fred (2015-06-15). "StL Mayor’s Office would welcome the Chargers or Raiders if Rams leave". The Beast 980. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  30. ↑ http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/goodell-million-for-st-louis-stadium-fundamentally-inconsistent-with-nfl/article_1c529334-4e3f-5885-9f68-156184f56ad8.html
  31. ↑ "Owner of St. Louis Rams plans to build NFL stadium in Inglewood". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Slay to Goodell: I cannot ever remember meeting Stan Kroenke.". St. Louis Post Dispatch. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  33. ↑ "St. Louis to Kroenke: You're 'preposterous'.". St. Louis Post Dispatch. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Stan Kroenke's Bad Relocation Math.". St. Louis Post Dispatch. January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Rams headed back to Los Angeles; Chargers have option to join". ESPN. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  36. ↑ Thomas, Jim. "NFL owners thrilled by Kroenke's move". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  37. ↑ "Missouri Sports Hall of Fame mulling Kroenke's removal". KMOV. 13 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  38. ↑ Laube, James and Sogg, Daniel, Wine Spectator (March 21, 2006). "Screaming Eagle Sold".
  39. ↑ "Billionaire Stan Kroenke Buys $132.5 Million Broken O Ranch". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  40. ↑ "2015 Land Report 100". The Land Report. Retrieved 2015-11-02.
  41. ↑ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-09/nfl-owner-stan-kroenke-buys-texas-mega-ranch-listed-for-725-million

External links

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