Stan Kroenke of Kroenke Sports Enterprises is soon to become sole owner of the premier football league club Arsenal. The American Kroenke, nicknamed ‘Silent Stan’ because of his reluctance to talk to the media, has a good bit of experience in the world of professional sports.
His company KSE controls several American teams: Denver Nuggets in basketball, Colorado Avalanche in ice hockey, St. Louis Rams in football and Colorado Rapids in soccer. Kroenke has also been on the board of Arsenal for the past three years. Chairman of the Arsenal board Peter Hill-Wood said they are confident Kroenke has the right values and will make a good ‘custodian’ for the club.
This purchase will make the Denver-based sports tycoon the fifth U.S. owner of a premier league team. Kroenke’s acquisition of shares from Danny Fiszman and Nina Bracewell-Smith gave him a 62.89% stake in the club, and he has offered to buy the remaining shares from Russian investor Alisher Usmanov for 11,750 pounds each.
The majority opinion seems to be that Kroenke will keep the club’s best interests at heart; the club’s manager Arsene Wenger said that having worked with Kroenke over the last couple of years, he feels the American understands the club’s traditions and will not undermine its independence.
Kroenke stated that he plans to bring new success to the Gunners and help put them back at the top of the league. Arsenal has not been in that position for several years, since they won the Premier League in 2004 and the FA cup in 2005. Currently Arsenal is second behind Manchester United, with seven matches still to go in the season.