The long nightmare is finally over for Los Angeles Angels fans.
Major news emerged on Tuesday that longtime Angels owner Arte Moreno is selling his controlling stake in the team. Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Denver Nuggets, Arsenal FC, and other well-known pro sports franchises, will become the new owner of the Angels as part of a record-breaking purchase price.
The news of Moreno finally deciding to sell the team led to widespread celebrations in the (social media) streets by Angels fans. Many could not contain their joy about the impending end of Moreno’s tenure as Angels owner.
WE WON
— Stan Kroenke STAN (@BeyondTheHalo) September 1, 2026
ARTE IS GONE
ARTE IS OUT pic.twitter.com/tDI3w8SDjr
— Halos Hub (@haloshub) September 1, 2026
ARTE MORENO CANT HURT ME ANYMORE pic.twitter.com/lSwyRf640O
— Brandaddy Clarke (@BrandaddyClarke) September 1, 2026
Arte Moreno has sold the Angels.
— Robbie Hyde (@gingersnaphyde) September 1, 2026
I actually can’t believe it. pic.twitter.com/ykSOAjmnoT
Job finished! #LFG pic.twitter.com/z3C9Zi4dx6
— SellTheTeamArte (@WeSuckkAgain) September 1, 2026
— The Anaheim Fan (@veddermicheI) September 1, 2026
Moreno, 80, first purchased the Angels back in 2003 for a sum of $180 million. With their infrastructure already built out, the Angels were a relative powerhouse through the end of the decade, winning five division titles, and making multiple ALCS appearances.
But the last decade-and-a-half of Moreno’s ownership had been an abject disaster for the Angels, despite the entire career of generational superstar Mike Trout taking place in that span. Under Moreno, the Angels spent lavishly on ill-advised free agent signings such as Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton, CJ Wilson, and (gulp) Anthony Rendon. Meanwhile, Moreno cheaped out on virtually every other aspect of the organization, including player development, baseball operations, and basic amenities with both Angel Stadium and with the team’s minor-league affiliates.
Moreno’s leadership will ultimately be remembered for essentially wasting Trout’s entire prime, failing to produce even so much as a single winning season with both Trout and fellow superstar Shohei Ohtani on the roster, and then allowing Ohtani to walk in free agency to the hated rival Los Angeles Dodgers where he proceeded to win two straight championships and counting. Meanwhile, the Angels now possess the longest active playoff drought in Major League Baseball (since 2014), sit at an AL-worst 53-85 this season, and continue to rank as having one of the worst farm systems in all of baseball.
Back in 2022, Moreno excited Angels fans by exploring the possibility of a sale but eventually ended up pulling the team off the market several months later. Nearly four years after though, Moreno is finally exiting as owner of the franchise, and Kroenke will formally become the new owner of the Angels in the first quarter of 2027.
