How Stan Kroenke brought NFL back to Los Angeles, built a $5.5bn stadium and is on the verge of Super Bowl glory

STAN KROENKE needs just one more piece to complete his Los Angeles jigsaw after leaving a trail of destruction back home.

The Rams and Arsenal owner has gone all in for Super Bowl glory in America’s entertainment capital.

Missouri mogul Kroenke, 74, brought NFL back to Los Angeles by building a luxury $5.5billion stadium that will host the biggest game in American sport.

The Gunners chief played a key role in the Rams uprooting from Los Angeles back in 1995 to St Louis.

But eight years ago he brought 60 acres of land in Inglewood to build this stadium and bring the Rams back to the LA after two decades without a team.

He left behind a trail of lawsuits from outraged St Louis officials which Kroenke and the NFL settled three months ago to the sum of $790m.

Just like at Arsenal, one of Kroenke’s first moves was to bring in a young head coach in the form of Sean McVay – who was just 30 when he took charge in 2017.

But while Gunners fans have grown disgruntled at their team’s slide and the lack of big-name signings, the Rams have pressed ahead.

Having got his team and new stadium in Los Angeles, Kroenke and his Rams cashed in their future draft picks for instant Super Bowl glory.

LA were laughed out of Atlanta three years ago when they scored just three points and lost the showpiece to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.

Since then, star defender Jalen Ramsey was brought in from Jacksonville Jaguars for the cost of two first round draft picks in 2019.

Former quarterback Jared Goff, who the Rams mistakenly dished out a four-year, $134m contract to, was shipped off to Detroit and replaced by Matthew Stafford this season.

The Rams were so desperate to get Goff off their books that they even gave away two more first round picks.

Linebacker Leonard Floyd joined in free agency in 2020 and running back Sony Michel was brought in from New England just before this season.

Superstar wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr joined last November after being axed by the Cleveland Browns.

Von Miller, one of the best defensive players of his generation, also landed on the West Coast with the Rams giving up a second and third round draft pick to Denver.

The high-risk strategy has raised eyebrows, including with two-time Super Bowl champion Osi Umenyiora.

The BBC pundit told SunSport: “You want to build your team through the draft and through homegrown players.

“The LA Rams’ best players are actually homegrown players in Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp.

“The draft is going to be the foundation of your football team but the Rams have traded away a major part of their future capital to win now.

“Short term it’s obviously worked because they’re in the Super Bowl.

“I think it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out, but I don’t believe this is the best strategy long term.”

His LA-born BBC colleague Jason Bell added: “This is LA, this is star power, you’ve got to bring in big names to compete with everything else out here.

“It’s not a smart long-term perspective in terms of team building but it’s worked this year.

“But they have to come away with a Super Bowl for it to all be worth it.”

Kroenke will follow in the footsteps of the Glazer family last year if the Rams win tonight.

The unpopular Manchester United owners assembled a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team led by Brady that became the first side ever to win a Super Bowl at home.

Kroenke has a chance to do the same on the other side of America and finish his LA puzzle.