Angels being sold to Rams owner, ending Arte Moreno’s disaster tenure

In a startling transaction that ends Arte Moreno's once-successful and ultimately mercurial 23-year ownership and provides a fresh start for a doddering franchise, the Los Angeles Angels have been sold to Rams owner Stan Kroenke for $4 billion, adding to the Walmart heir's burgeoning and increasingly sucessful sports portfolio.

The club announced Tuesday, Sept. 1 that it expects the sale of controlling interest in the club will close in the first quarter of 2027. A high-ranking baseball official confirmed the sale price to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because terms of the deal were not immediately public. The sale would be slightly above the $3.9 billion that Jose E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones recently paid to purchase the San Diego Padres.

Moreno, 80, bought the Angels for $184 million in 2003, inheriting a World Series-winning club and keeping the team's championship infrastructure in place as they won five division titles from 2004-2009.

Yet Moreno's impatience with and alienation of baseball operations staffers and addiction to signing fading veterans to massive contracts – such as Josh Hamilton ($125 million), Albert Pujols ($240 million) and Anthony Rendon ($245 million) – undermined the work of his front office. And ultimately, it…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/sports/