Angels may be Stan Kroenkes team, but land could be real prize

The easiest conclusion is that Stan Kroenke bought the Angels so he could move them to Los Angeles, presumably somewhere near SoFi Stadium, where his Rams play.It is also probably the laziest conclusion.People who understand how Kroenke operates are looking beyond the ballclub and toward the roughly 152 acres beneath and around Angel Stadium.That property sits in a highly desirable section of Southern California surrounded by freeways, public transportation, housing, entertainment and ongoing development.For Kroenke, that much land is every bit as interesting as the baseball team.The important distinction is that Kroenke is buying the Angels, not the property.

The City of Anaheim owns Angel Stadium and the surrounding land.The team operates there under a lease that was recently extended through 2032, with two additional three-year options that could keep it in Anaheim through 2038.That does not mean Kroenke has no path to controlling the property.

It means control would have to come through a separate agreement with Anaheim.He could pursue a long-term ground lease, a development agreement, a partnership with the city or an outright purchase.Or maybe a trade in which Kroenke foots the bill to renovate Angel Stadium in exhange for the land.None of those possibilities has been publicly established as part of the Angels transaction, and any disposition of city-owned land would require a public process.But buying the team gives Kroenke the most important thing he needs: leverage.Anaheim owns 152 acres containing an aging stadium and acres of surface parking, but the value of that property is closely tied to its primary tenant.

Kroenke will soon control that tenant.The city cannot realistically determine the future of the stadium district without negotiating with the man who owns the baseball team playing there.That is where this deal gets interesting.Kroenke is not simply a collector of sports franchises.

He is a real-estate developer who understands how a stadium ca...