Kroenke Sports Entertainment moved quickly to tackle rumors Monday that it was in talks to purchase a nearly 10 percent stake in Arsenal, the legendary British soccer club.
“At this point, there is no interest or intention from KSE in buying any shares or any pieces of Arsenal Football Club or any club in the English Premier League,” Jurgen Mainka, senior director of communications and international business at the Colorado Rapids, said in a statement.
The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that British broadcaster ITV was in talks with KSE about the sale of its 9.9 percent stake in Arsenal, worth an estimated $79 million.
Mainka dismissed the speculation outright.
“There certainly is no substance to these stories and rumors in the media, which indeed started when we first announced our commercial relationship with Arsenal Football Club,” he said.
The Rapids and Arsenal in February signed a joint marketing and collaboration agreement.
The agreement includes the creation of the Arsenal Center of Excellence, a soccer-skills training center, and the launch of the Arsenal Cup, a club tournament that will be open to American teams.
Both will be in Commerce City at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, an 18,000-seat soccer stadium that Kroenke Sports is scheduled to open April 7.
The Rapids will help promote the Arsenal brand in the U.S., while the Arsenal Center will train Rapids players.
Although Kroenke Sports was firm in its denial, Stan Kroenke in 2000 called reports that he would buy the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche “pure speculation.” He eventually ended up buying the two teams and the Pepsi Center.
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-954-1410 or asvaldi@denverpost.com.
