His Denver Nuggets just won the franchise’s first NBA title, but owner Stan Kroenke isn’t slowing down a bit.
The billionaire team owner and businessman has become the majority investor in a vast San Diego sports arena project.
The Kroenke Group, the 75-year-old’s real estate company, is taking control of San Diego’s Midway Rising project, which includes a 16,000-seat arena as the centerpiece of a 48.6-acre site that will be redeveloped with thousands of new housing units, a hotel, and retail space.
Located about 120 miles south of Kroenke’s $5.5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the planned San Diego venue — which could open as soon as 2025 — doesn’t have a price tag but could be a fitting home for a pro basketball or hockey franchise.
San Diego mayor Todd Gloria said the investment from Kroenke should “make it that much more certain that this project will actually come to fruition.”
Neither Kroenke’s championship-winning Nuggets nor his 2022 NHL champion Colorado Avalanche are looking to move from Denver, but the Arizona Coyotes are desperately searching for a viable arena, as they’re currently playing at Arizona State’s 5,000-seat Mullett Arena.
The NBA will likely expand within the next decade, so a new arena could make San Diego an attractive option for an incoming franchise, although Las Vegas and Seattle appear to be frontrunners as of now.
In 2025, Major League Soccer will arrive in San Diego with the league’s 30th team. It will play at Snapdragon Stadium, which opened last year and is currently home to the San Diego State Aztecs football team.
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