Kroenke Sports – Arsenal’s Premier League title on Tuesday adds to a trophy streak already built by KSE across the NFL and NBA, with Stan Kroenke and his son Josh now chasing the one major prize that could complete their grip on elite club sport: the Champions League final aga
When Arsenal sealed the Premier League title on Tuesday for the first time in over two decades. it didn’t just end a long wait in north London. It landed inside a wider sprint for trophies being run by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. a sprawling American ownership group that has steadily turned its reach across sports into hardware.
In the last five years. KSE has oversaw the LA Rams winning the Super Bowl and the Colorado Avalanche lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022. followed by the Denver Nuggets capturing their first-ever NBA Championship in 2023. Arsenal’s title now puts another league crown into that same trophy cabinet—after a wobble and a late charge from Manchester City that Arsenal had to withstand before the celebrations could properly begin.
The momentum is hard to miss: KSE’s MLS side. the Colorado Rapids. won the MLS Cup in 2010. leaving just the Champions League as the major trophy that still sits outside the portfolio at the top end of European club football. The club’s shot at closing that gap is already set—KSE will have a direct stake in the final against Paris Saint-Germain. scheduled for May 30 in Budapest.
If Arsenal overcome defending champions PSG in that match. it would deliver something the club has never been able to achieve in its history. For KSE, it would be more than a landmark win. It would look like the group has finally completed sport in the most literal way possible: dominance. not just within one league. but across multiple global stages.
There’s a second reason this feels so loaded. Arsenal’s relationship with the Kroenkes hasn’t always been smooth, and the conflict sits close enough to the surface to still shape how people talk about the current era.
In 2018. when KSE took full ownership of Arsenal. the takeover prompted the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust to mark it as a “dreadful day” for the club. Fans were not quiet about it either. Supporters were pushed into selling their shares as part of the deal that saw KSE acquire Alisher Usmanov’s minority stake. and protests flared again when KSE signed up for the failed European Super League project in 2021.
So when Stan Kroenke and Josh Kroenke—Stan, 78, nicknamed ‘Silent Stan’ for his low profile and rare interviews—spoke publicly after Arsenal’s title, the words landed in a place where trust had once been thin.
In a joint message published on Arsenal’s website before Monday night’s game against Burnley. which was the club’s final home match of the season. the owners framed the title as the beginning of something bigger. “We will give everything we’ve got to win major trophies and you can rest assured that everyone at the club will continue the hard work to make the coming weeks unforgettable. ” the message read. They added: “The connection we feel with our supporters fills us with pride. Between us. we are building something very special and. wherever this month of May takes us. there will be no standing still when the season ends.”.
The message continued: “We are always forward in our approach, taking the learnings as we go and relentless in the pursuit of progress.”
Owners talking about pride in supporter connection can sound scripted in any sport. At Arsenal, though, it’s also the kind of line that becomes difficult to dismiss when compared with what came before.
KSE’s supporters now have something they didn’t get in earlier chapters: results strong enough to quiet some of the loudest criticism. But it’s not a simple story of one constant plan working perfectly. Even in recent years. there has been a noticeable shift in who fans see at games and how hands-on Josh Kroenke appears.
One former Arsenal executive. speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships. described the Kroenkes as “the best owners in sport in terms of empowering. trusting and giving authority and support to those they put in place.” The same theme runs through the group’s broader sporting portfolio.
Across KSE’s teams, it is said to be less about micromanaging leadership groups and more about trusting the people in charge—though the degree of Josh’s visibility varies. Stan remains heavily engaged, and the final say on key matters such as transfers still rests with him alongside his son.
Even so, Josh has moved closer to day-to-day control in certain moments. In the 2024-25 season, he became the de facto day-to-day manager of the Nuggets for several months after sacking head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth.
At the LA Rams, KSE are not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation. The same ownership approach is attributed to trust in Les Snead, the general manager, and Sean McVay, the head coach, along with other trusted executives at the NFL franchise.
That mix—hands-on at the edges, hands-off in the day-to-day—has helped create space for sporting teams to find momentum without owners constantly leaning over their shoulders.
It also helps explain why the trophy streak feels unusually complete across different leagues. In the background, KSE’s influence even stretches into the buildings that hold the biggest nights. Stan’s expansive real estate portfolio spans from ranches in the U.S. to the Emirates Stadium in north London.
At SoFi Stadium, one of the most impressive venues in the United States and home of the Rams, KSE have already hosted a Super Bowl in 2022 and will host another in 2027. They have also staged the opening and closing ceremonies at the LA28 Olympic Games.
The Emirates still remains a major venue, but it is 20 years old and beginning to show its age. The rise of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium across north London has also made the contrast feel sharper. And KSE—experienced in real estate—have been giving thought to what they could do at the Emirates from a redevelopment viewpoint. especially as they look to maximise the club’s revenue streams.
Should Arsenal eventually increase capacity. modernise the stadium. and digitise the stadium experience. expectations would naturally follow that it could strengthen the relationship supporters feel with the club’s new era—while also turning the arena into something “future-proof” for the business side of football.
If KSE truly are on the cusp of completing sport, the next deadline is the hardest one. Arsenal will face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on May 30, with the Premier League title already secured. And if they add the Champions League victory that has never landed in the club’s history. it won’t just feel like a big European night. It will look like KSE’s multi-sport rule has finally finished the last missing piece.
Arsenal Kroenke Sports & Entertainment KSE Stan Kroenke Josh Kroenke Premier League title Manchester City Mikel Arteta Champions League final Paris Saint-Germain Budapest May 30 LA Rams Super Bowl 2022 Denver Nuggets NBA Championship 2023 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup 2022 Colorado Rapids MLS Cup 2010