Kroenke Buys Denver Franchises

St. Louis Rams co-owner Stan Kroenke, a Wal-Mart heir who is a resident of Columbia, has agreed to buy the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets and the arena in which they play for $450 million. Kroenke beat out a prospective bid from a group that included former Denver Broncos great John Elway. Kroenke has been interested in buying the teams since negotiations with Colorado billionaire Donald Strum fell through last fall. The sale must be approved by the NBA and NHL. The NFL says the agreement presents no conflict of cross-ownership because Kroenke does not own a majority stake of the Super Bowl champions. Kroenke’s purchase sets up the possibility of some interesting battles at the dinner table. Avalanche owner Kroenke and Blues owner Bill Laurie are married to sisters.