KEY POINTS:
He is the man who would be king of Arsenal - a reclusive 59-year-old multi-billionaire who is still in good enough shape to play basketball on the same practice court as his NBA franchise, the Denver Nuggets.
Stan Kroenke is not your average American sports tycoon but he
has already become the key figure in the power struggle at one of English football's most revered institutions.
To get an idea of the power of Kroenke, you need to visit the heart of his empire in Denver, where he owns five sporting franchises and is trying to take soccer to the American masses. It is an operation built over two decades by the man who now owns 12.19 per cent of Arsenal and whose intentions have fuelled the speculation that this week forced the club's major shareholder, Danny Fiszman, to reiterate that his board was not about to sell.
Kroenke is notoriously publicity-shy - even his local newspaper, the Denver Post, interviews him only via email. The public face of his company, Kroenke Sports Enterprises, is the executive vice-president Paul Andrews, who said this week that he saw Arsenal, with whom Kroenke's Colorado Rapids soccer team have a marketing partnership, as "one of the greatest brands of any sport - and I'm not just talking about soccer".
Andrews would not discuss Kroenke's long-term intentions towards Arsenal or comment on any connection between the American and David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, who the board forced out in April. However, Andrews said the partnership with Rapids had survived the acrimonious relationship between the club's board and its new, acquisitive shareholder. "Both sides have something in common, we can help drive the Arsenal brand across the United States, that makes some sense.
"There is Arsenal product in our retail stores. Right now we are working with Adrian Ford [commercial director] and Keith Edelman [managing director] to develop the ideas."
Andrews has visited the Emirates Stadium and Highbury - "I loved its character". Between them they are planning an Arsenal "academy of excellence", although the real issue will be what happens if Kroenke manages to buy enough shares to trigger a bid for the whole club. He met Edelman and chairman Peter Hill-Wood in New York last month, although Edelman's recent comments that the club does not need a new owner suggest there is little board support for Kroenke.
Nevertheless, Kroenke has proved an implacable force in the past. As well as the Nuggets and the Rapids, he owns ice hockey's Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth (lacrosse) and Colorado Crush (indoor American football). All, apart from the Rapids, play on the edge of Denver's downtown at Kroenke's Pepsi Centre arena, where the man himself has a penthouse apartment.
Kroenke has revolutionised sport in Denver, where the population of two million had traditionally watched just the NFL team, Denver Broncos. Under his leadership Avalanche have twice won the Stanley Cup and the Nuggets should be in a position to challenge seriously for the NBA championship next season. A child's ticket to watch the Nuggets is only US$5 ($6.40), while the adult price is just twice that.
Kroenke has placed his greatest faith in soccer, spending US$70 million on a new 18,000-capacity home for Colorado Rapids. It is surrounded by 24 youth soccer pitches - the largest complex of its kind in the United States.
It would be easy to see how the purchase of a high-profile English team would fit his plan to win over the US through summer tours and promotions. Dick's Sporting Goods Park may not sound like one of the world's potentially great football stadiums, but Arsenal would help to shine a little light on an obscure outpost. Neither of the new American owners at Manchester United and Liverpool have their own Major League Soccer teams.
"I have seen what really good soccer is - you live with it in England," Andrews said. "We think Major League Soccer will rise to that level. We think that will happen if we develop youth soccer in the US.
"We think our park will be sold out every night. We might add on to the stadium, we have the ability to do that. My kids play soccer and their kids will play soccer and that is different to my generation."
Andrews says Enos Stanley Kroenke "doesn't seek the limelight - and that is putting it mildly". When he is in Denver he heads to the Nuggets' gym to train and still gets on the court "to shoot hoops or kick the ball around a bit". He fits the image of Colorado's outdoors tradition, with a passion for hunting, fishing, skiing and building fences on his four ranches. He also owns or co-owns three Californian vineyards, a hotel in Hawaii and a property empire.
When it comes to running his sports teams, Kroenke takes a close interest in new players. He personally endorsed his executives' move to sign the star player Allen Iverson last year.
Kroenke was a promising athlete himself at school and university, where he played baseball, basketball and ran for the athletics team.
"Personal recognition isn't something I have been concerned with or thought about much," Kroenke told the Denver Post this month. "I think if you work hard and are honest, then good things will happen."
It has been reported in Denver that Kroenke is still in such good shape through training with the Nuggets' fitness coach that he has a lower body-fat percentage than college basketball players who have joined the franchise.
He worked in his parents' hardware store in Missouri, attended university in the state and opened his first business there - a shop selling clothes to students. His marriage to Ann Walton, an heir to the Wal-Mart dynasty founded by her uncle, Sam, meant Kroenke had a connection with one of the US's richest families. His wealth is estimated at US$3 billion as is hers.
- Independent
