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Wal-Mart Heir Buys Avs, Nugs

April 24, 2000 / 2:16 PM EDT / CBS/AP

No late comback for John Elway this time.

The Colorado Avalanche, the Denver Nuggets and their arena will be sold to a Wal-Mart heir who owns part of the St. Louis Rams for $450 million, outbidding a group led by the former Broncos great.

The agreement Monday to sell to Stan Kroenke ends a year of indecision for the two teams during which two offers fell through, three lawsuits were filed and a chief executive officer resigned under pressure.

Kroenke, who prides himself on being named after St. Louis Cardinals great Stan Musial, owns 40 percent of the Rams. He made clear he would not be an absentee owner.

"The guys around me will tell you I stay involved," he said.

Kroenke's bid was strengthened because he was a sole owner and not dependent on other individuals, said Gary Howard, chief operating officer of Liberty Media Group, which is selling the sports assets.

"We weren't depending on a bank group to provide a loan," he said.

The agreement must be approved by the NHL, the NBA, Liberty Media Group shareholders and the city of Denver. But neither Kroenke nor Liberty Media anticipates problems, Howard said. The sale was scheduled to close June 30.

NHL officials plan to review the sale as soon as possible. The NFL said the agreement presents no conflict of cross-ownership because Kroenke does not own a majority stake of the Rams.

Kroenke had been interested in buying a majority ownership in the Denver teams since negotiations with another prospective buyer collapsed last fall.

"I think your responsibility as an owner to your team and to your community is to support the team - to make the right decision to bring you these winning teams," he said. "We look forward to having the opportunity to do that in Denver."

Howard said considerable time was spent ensuring Kroenke is committed to Denver. Asked if he would keep the teams in Denver for at least 25 years, Kroenke said, "Yes."

Mayor Wellington Webb has said he would accept no deal without a guarantee of the teams staying in Denver.

"I've been coming to Colorado for over 30 years regularly, and I have a home in Steamboat," said Kroenke. "Denver is a great city, they are great teams and it is a great arena."

A year ago, Ascent Entertainment Group executives thought they had the teams and arena sold to Bill and Nancy Laurie, another Wal-Mart heir, who offered $400 million. That bid collapsed after shareholders sued. Then-CEO Charlie Lyons resigned after shareholders questioned his role in brokering the deal.

Ascent then offered the sports assets in an auction which was won by Denver billionaire Donald Sturm's $461 million bid, but that agreement fell through when Sturm would not agree to guarantee the teams would remain in Denver for 25 years.

The city has the equivalent of veto power over the sale because of the financial breaks it gave Ascent when it constructed the Pepsi Center.

Liberty Media, a Denver communications company, purchased Ascent in February and said it planned to sell the sports assets within six months.

Last weekend, a group including Elway, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and New Jersey Devils owner John McMullen announced it had city approval to buy the team.

Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp, an investment banking firm that specializes in the sports industry, said the sale to Kroenke appeared to be a good one.

"It's very important to have an owner who has deep enough pockets to deal with this short term in dip in the teams' financial conditions," he said.

Liberty Media will retain a 6.5 percent interest in the teams. The NBA would not have allowed Liberty Media to retain full ownership of the Nuggets because of its shares in other teams.

Kroenke, a 52-year-old real estate developer, is the brother-in-law of Bill and Nancy Laurie, whose $400 million offer was rejected by Ascent stockholders last year.

Kroenke's stake in the Rams reportedly is worth an estimated $80 million. His wife is a niece of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.

Avalanche goalie Patrick Roy declined comment on the new owner, saying he preferred to concentrate on the playoffs.

"There's perhaps nothing more challenging in professional team sports than winning the Stanley Cup," Kroenke said. "It will be thrilling watching Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Roy and the rest of the team battle the next several weeks."