Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports and entertainment |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Stan Kroenke |
| Headquarters | Denver, Colorado , United States |
Area served | United States, England |
Key people | Stan Kroenke (Founder), Josh Kroenke (Operational control of some teams) |
| Products | Professional sports teams, stadium venues, esports organizations, media properties, theme park |
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is a Denver, Colorado-based American holding company specializing in sports and entertainment. Established in 1999 by entrepreneur Stan Kroenke, KSE oversees a broad array of assets, including ownership of five professional sports teams in the United States, two football clubs in England, four stadium venues, two professional esports organizations, several media properties, and Denver's Elitch Gardens Theme Park.
Sports franchises
KSE's entry into the sports industry began in 1995 with Stan Kroenke acquiring a stake in the National Football League's St. Louis Rams, where he assumed the role of vice-chairman. By the year 2000, KSE had secured full ownership of the National Basketball Association's Denver Nuggets and the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche, purchasing these teams from Charlie Lyons’ Ascent Entertainment Group. The company further broadened its sports portfolio by adding the Arena Football League's Colorado Crush (2002), the National Lacrosse League's Colorado Mammoth (2002), and Major League Soccer's Colorado Rapids (2003). Additionally, KSE held ownership of the Grand Prix of Denver between 2002 and 2006.
In 2010, KSE exercised its option to acquire full ownership of the Rams from the estate of former owner Georgia Frontiere, becoming sole proprietor with unanimous approval from the NFL. To adhere to NFL rules that prevent majority ownership of multiple major league teams within overlapping markets, Stan Kroenke transferred operational control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his son Josh Kroenke by the end of that year and subsequently assigned ownership interests to his wife Ann Walton Kroenke in 2015.
KSE holds a significant shareholding in English football club Arsenal. Beginning with a 9.9% stake purchased from Granada Ventures in 2007, KSE gradually increased its investment to nearly 30% by 2009. By April 2011, KSE had gained a controlling interest of 62.89% through acquisitions from principal shareholders and made a £731 million bid for remaining shares. The acquisition was finalized in August 2018 when KSE purchased Arsenal Holdings’ remaining shares from Alisher Usmanov, raising its ownership above 90%. This move led to Arsenal’s delisting from public stock exchanges and granted KSE complete control over both the Premier League men’s team and FA Women's Super League squad, as well as related properties such as Emirates Stadium.
Esports
In late 2017, KSE entered the esports arena by launching a franchise in the newly created Overwatch League, naming their team the Los Angeles Gladiators, with their first season commencing on December 6.
In August 2019, Activision Blizzard revealed that KSE had secured a franchise slot in the franchised Call of Duty League. This Los Angeles-based team was branded as the Los Angeles Guerrillas.
In November 2021, KSE rebranded its esports division as "The Guard," focusing on competition within the first-person shooter game Valorant. However, on February 22, 2023, "The Guard" terminated all personnel involved in content creation, social media, talent management, and creative roles. By August 29, 2023, "The Guard" had withdrawn entirely from competitive Valorant esports. Following the conclusion of the 2023 Overwatch League season and the league's cessation, the Los Angeles Gladiators were disbanded.
In September 2024, French esports organization Gentle Mates acquired ownership of the Los Angeles Guerrillas franchise. This transaction was publicly announced on December 4 ahead of the upcoming 2025 Call of Duty League season.
Real estate
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) holds ownership of Ball Arena situated in downtown Denver, which serves as the home venue for the Nuggets and Avalanche. Additionally, KSE is a co-owner of Dick's Sporting Goods Park located in Commerce City, Colorado, the stadium for the Rapids. Both facilities were developed under Kroenke's corporate umbrella. In 2002, Kroenke purchased the historic Paramount Theatre in Denver. He also established TicketHorse, a proprietary ticketing platform. In June 2009, Peak Entertainment—a collaboration between KSE and AEG Live Rocky Mountain—took over management of the 1stBank Center in Broomfield, Colorado, through a 28-year operational agreement.
Kroenke spearheaded the creation of the $1 billion NFL SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, as part of the Rams’ relocation to Los Angeles. This stadium anchors Hollywood Park, a mixed-use development combining commercial and residential spaces on the former Hollywood Park Racetrack grounds. In 2015, Kroenke joined forces with Stockbridge Capital Group, owners of Hollywood Park Land Company, to construct the NFL stadium and surrounding complex. SoFi Stadium is owned and managed by StadCo LA, LLC, a KSE subsidiary, in partnership with the Los Angeles Chargers ownership group. The venue opened in 2020 and serves as the home field for both teams.
Through his stake in Arsenal Football Club, Kroenke controls the club’s stadium, Emirates Stadium, located in Holloway, London.
Media
In 2004, Kroenke introduced Altitude Sports and Entertainment, a regional sports network designed to compete with FSN Rocky Mountain (now AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain), becoming the official broadcaster for his sports franchises. On January 10, 2011, KSE acquired a 50% interest in the U.S. operations of World Fishing Network under the Altitude brand. That same year, Altitude obtained a 19.9% stake in the Canadian World Fishing Network via Altitude WFN ULC and subsequently purchased all remaining shares. In 2013, KSE broadened its media holdings by acquiring Outdoor Channel along with MyOutdoorTV.com, Cablecam, and Skycam.
In 2014, KSE purchased InterMedia Outdoor Holdings from InterMedia Partners; this acquisition included Sportsman Channel, 15 leading outdoor magazines, 17 prominent websites, and television production units. This division was later rebranded as Outdoor Sportsman Group.
On October 12, 2015, Kroenke Sports Enterprises announced it had acquired Wilks Broadcasting’s Denver radio stations—KXKL-FM, KWOF, and KIMN—for $54 million. Following FCC approval, one station was slated to transition to a sports format to broadcast games for the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and Colorado Rapids, replacing coverage previously aired on KKFN.
On December 17, 2015, Entercom sold KRWZ to KSE Radio Ventures. The station adopted new call letters KKSE and shifted to sports talk under the "Altitude Sports 950" branding to align with KSE’s Altitude cable network. Shortly thereafter, KWOF also converted from country music to sports programming as KKSE-FM.