The easiest conclusion is that Stan Kroenke bought the Angels so he could move them to Los Angeles, presumably somewhere near SoFi Stadium, where his Rams play.

It is also probably the laziest conclusion.

People who understand how Kroenke operates are looking beyond the ballclub and toward the roughly 152 acres beneath and around Angel Stadium. That property sits in a highly desirable section of Southern California surrounded by freeways, public transportation, housing, entertainment and ongoing development.

For Kroenke, that much land is every bit as interesting as the baseball team.

The important distinction is that Kroenke is buying the Angels, not the property. The City of Anaheim owns Angel Stadium and the surrounding land. The team operates there under a lease that was recently extended through 2032, with two additional three-year options that could keep it in Anaheim through 2038.

That does not mean Kroenke has no path to controlling the property. It means control would have to come through a separate agreement with Anaheim.

He could pursue a long-term ground lease, a development agreement, a partnership with the city or an outright purchase. Or maybe a trade in which Kroenke foots the bill to renovate Angel Stadium in exhange for the land.

None of those possibilities has been publicly established as part of the Angels transaction, and any disposition of city-owned land would require a public process.

But buying the team gives Kroenke the most important thing he needs: leverage.

Anaheim owns 152 acres containing an aging stadium and acres of surface parking, but the value of that property is closely tied to its primary tenant. Kroenke will soon control that tenant. The city cannot realistically determine the future of the stadium district without negotiating with the man who owns the baseball team playing there.

That is where this deal gets interesting.

Kroenke is not simply a collector of sports franchises. He is a real estate developer who understands how a stadium can anchor something far larger. SoFi Stadium was not conceived merely as a place for the Rams to play football. It became the centerpiece of the massive Hollywood Park development, surrounded by entertainment, offices, housing, retail and other revenue-producing uses.

The same basic opportunity exists in Anaheim.

The city’s previous stadium plan demonstrated what could be built there. That proposal envisioned thousands of homes, millions of square feet of office and commercial space, hotels, restaurants, parks and either a renovated or replacement ballpark. Anaheim agreed in 2020 to sell the site to an entity controlled by the Arte Moreno family for approximately $320 million, with a substantial portion of the price offset by commitments involving affordable housing and park development.

That agreement was canceled in 2022 amid the fallout from the corruption investigation involving former Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu. The land never changed hands. Anaheim still owns it, and the failed process all but guarantees that any future agreement will receive intense legal and public scrutiny.

So Kroenke should not expect the city to quietly hand him the property at a sweetheart price. What he can do is negotiate a structure that lowers his effective cost through infrastructure commitments, affordable housing, public space and other community benefits. In real-estate development, the headline purchase price rarely tells the whole story.

Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken had been hopeful of striking a deal with Moreno that would ensure the Angels’ long-range future in Orange County. And will undoubtedly look forward to sitting down with Kroenke about how he and the city could maximize the development in and around the stadium.

There is another reason moving the Angels may not make immediate sense: They already play in the Los Angeles media market. The franchise already carries “Los Angeles” in its name. Relocating north would require Kroenke to secure a site, navigate a difficult approval process, build a multibillion-dollar stadium and abandon an established Orange County fan base.

Meanwhile, Anaheim offers a huge site, an existing ballpark, freeway access, nearby rail service and proximity to Disneyland, Honda Center and the rest of the Platinum Triangle.

A move should not be dismissed. Kroenke has proven that he will relocate a franchise when he believes the economics demand it, and the possibility of leaving gives him additional bargaining power.

But assuming relocation is the plan misses the more intriguing possibility.

Kroenke may not have bought the Angels because he wants to move them out of Anaheim. He may have bought them because owning the team gives him the best possible position from which to pursue control of 152 acres in the middle of one of Southern California’s most valuable development corridors.

The baseball team is the attraction everyone sees.

The land may be the opportunity Kroenke sees.