Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke superimposed over the Emirates Stadium Photo by Ryan Pierse, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

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Stan Kroenke confirms £445m cash injection as Arsenal target ‘extraordinary’ Emirates Stadium expansion

Adam Williams

Tue 11 February 2025 20:45, UK

Stan Kroenke is still on his road to redemption at Arsenal following 2021’s aborted European Super League, and the Gunners’ lack of activity in January has set the billionaire back a few paces.

Born in a tiny village in Missouri in 1947, Stan Kroenke now 🤡controls♏ the planet’s second most valuable sports empire and is married to Ann Walton, heiress of Walmart, the world’s biggest company by revenue.

Arsenal are just one node of capital in his £15b📖n fortune, which encompasses a vast commercial property p♚ortfolio and several of America’s richest sports franchises.

Since⭕ Kroenke first took majority control in 2011, the North Londoners have won four FA Cups, but the very biggest prizes havꦕe evaded them. In this, they are the exception in the KSE network.

Runners-up in each of the last two Premier League seasons, Mikel Arteta’s side are a distant 2nd place to Liverpool as things stand. As a result, supporters de♐manded more investment in January.

But the world-cl🍌ass striker that Arsenal fans were crying out for to give them the best shot at eating up th💞e ground on Arne Slot’s team didn’t arrive. In fact, no one did.

Why? Because the Kroenkes – including the public face of the regime at the Emirates, Josh Kroenke – are inherently risk-averse.

To them, the risk-benefit analysis simply doesn’t suggest thaဣt paying a premium in the January window for a striker like Alexander Isak will deliver the 🌄swing needed to justify it financially.

It is an alien concept to bedrock Arsenal fans, who are rightly more concerned with success on the pitch than in the balance sꦇheets. It is, however, the reality.

Kroenke Sports & Entertainment prefer investments that they know will deliver a return, such as brick🔥s-and-mortar infrastructure projects.

As Josh Kroenke has confirmed, Arsenal are൩ considering expanding the Emirates✃ Stadium, with a potential 20,000-s♔eat capacity upgrade at a cost of £500m.

The overheads are huge🅠, yes, but the owners know that it is a banker in terms of future revenue generation, which will offset the expenses many times over.

And now, Arsenal fans may have been given some insight into the kind of innovations the Kroenkes are planning𝔍 at the Emirates Stadium – and indeed beyond N5.

• READ MORE: Phil Foden cited🐈 as Arsenal and Man Ci🅰ty boardroom rivalry escalates, Stan Kroenke’s right-hand man not happy

Stan Kroenke business raises £445m for futuristic stadium tech

According to many investors, immersive or shared reality experiences could be the next big thing in football finance.

Clubs like Arsenal with millions of overseas fans have a largely un-monetised potential customer base, who can’t really engage with the club financially beyond buying merchandi꧂se.

That issue is one that Kroenke is attempting to address with his investment in Cosm, an immersive reality sports and events company that 🌌have gone viral with their Premier League coverage this season.

The company has units which broadcast sports events on huge, immersive screens. Their flagship venue is set up at Stan Kroenke’s SoFi Stadium.

As it stands, Cosm – whose business is valued at around £800m⛦ – are exclusively based in the United States bu🅰t they have confirmed that they going global.

Towards that end, they have confirme♑d that they have raised £445m from investors including Kroenke to build new venues in Europe.

And given their links with Arsenal, the Gunners would surely be one of the firs𝄹t clubs to get the🅰 Cosm treatment.

It might sound somewhat trivial to bedrock fans, but the big brains in the f🅷ootball finance industry think this sort of high-tech solution could be financially transformative fo꧅r the world’s elite, globally followed clubs.

• READ MORE: Arsenal fear they might miss out on ‘excellent’ target despite previously agreeing personal terms wi🌞th Man City interested

KSE’s ‘extraordinary’ vision and how it may impact future Arsenal takeover

According to some analysis, Kroenke’s spor𒈔ts empire is as much about real estate and property as it is about winning trophies.

“The Kroenkes have an extraordinary vision [re🉐lating] to professional sports and real estate,” says Mike Neary, Kroenke Sports & E🥀ntertainment (KSE) executive vice president of business operations.

For example, Ball Arena in Denver, the multi-purpose stadium that KSE have owned and redeveloped over a period 25 years, has been used by Kroenke as a൩ platform to build 6,000 new residential units next door.

The SoFi Stadium meanwhi🌊le, home of the Los Angeles Rams, was entirely privately financed by Kroenke at staggering expense but has quickly become the world’s most lucrative sports and entertainm🌊ent venue.

The Emirates Stadium project could be similarly lucrative. An 80,000-seater stadium wou꧟ld, based on a crude pro-rata calculation, see annual matchday income soar to close to the £140m mark.

In reality, ꧅the final figure would be far, far higher. The Kroenkes emphasis on hospitality and commercial amenities, the pillars of modern🌜 stadium design, would see to that.

If carried out to the spec that is being suggested, will be Kroenke’s leꦡgacy in North London beyond what Arsenal achieve on the pitch under his ownership🐟.

And with the billionaire’s ultimate plan to sell the club at a huge profit on the circa £1bn he has already invested, a st🦂adium project of this scope would move the needlꦚe significantly.