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Stan Kroenke is Arsenal’s co-chair and 100 per cent owner but his presence at the Emirates Stadium is increasingly a rarity – and the Gunners are not the only one of his teams where this is the case.
KSE is the second most valuable sports empire in the world, behind only Liberty Media, who own Formula One and are major players in the media space.
The jewel in the crown of the Kroenke-owned holding company, at least in terms of their enterprise value, is the NFL outfit Los Angeles Rams.
The Rams won the Super Bowl in 2021, a few years after moving into what is widely regarded as one of if not the best venue in the world in the SoFi Stadium.
Arsenal played a pre-season friendly against Man United at the SoFi Stadium in June, showcasing three of Kroenke’s assets in his football and NFL outfits, as well as the stadium itself.
Kroenke also owns the Denver Nuggets, the NBA side that won the Championship last year. That franchise is one of several that Kroenke holds in his home state of Colorado.
However, not all of Kroenke’s sports assets were created equal and it will be interesting to see how the 77-year-old multi-billionaire responds to the latest question posed of the other football club he owns.
Stan Kroenke faces MLS dilemma
Many fans of the Colorado Rapids feel as though the MLS side are the poor relation of the Kroenke sports empire.
Their enterprise value sits at £400m, which is comfortably the lowest of the major franchises in his network, as well as being the lowest in the MLS.
Many supporters fell that their team has been neglected financially, especially in terms of infrastructure.
But Kroenke, viewed as an absentee landlord in some sections of Rapids fanbase, will soon have an important decision to make.
As reported by The Athletic, the MLS are exploring whether to move to an alternate fixture calendar that would see them align with most leagues in Europe, including the Premier League.
Why could this represent a quandary for Kroenke? Because it would bring the Rapids into direct competition for viewers with NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs and the NBA playoffs.
Kroenke has skin in the game in both through his ownership of Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets.
Arsenal, the next multi-club empire?
While Arsenal are technically part of a multi-club network with Colorado Rapids, there is little to suggest there is much of a share structure between the two clubs.
With Chelsea, Man City, Man United and (soon) Liverpool all part of more clearly defined and cohesive multi-club models, there will be those that think Arsenal are missing a trick.
But are they? Or, could Kroenke actually be the smart play?
There is increasing pushback against the multi-club model at regulatory level, with UEFA in particular taking steps to ensure there are no conflict of interests within their competitions.
Man City and Man United were granted license to play alongside sister clubs Girona and Nice in Europe this season, but that is a temporary reprieve only.
The smart money, it seems, is on either investing all capital in one club or owning multiple in different markets where there is little risk of overlap.
But with FIFA expanding the Club World Cup, that might present issues in due course too.