Rams Owner STAN KROENKE ranks No. 1 on the L.A. Daily News' Top 50 Most Powerful in Southern California Sports rankings, "beating out" Wasserman Chair & CEO and LA 2024 Chair CASEY WASSERMAN and AEG Chair, NHL Kings and Galaxy Owner PHIL ANSCHUTZ, according to Clay Fowler of the L.A. DAILY NEWS. The arrival of Kroenke's Rams to L.A. "significantly altered" the rankings. Kroenke "proved that he deserved to win the hotly contested race to L.A. by crafting a plan that took full advantage of Southern California's power." The changes in the sports landscape there "run deep with the addition of Kroenke and the Rams." Inglewood will "be transformed with a privately financed, 80,000-seat stadium, the centerpiece of a complex that will include a 300-room hotel, 1.5 million square feet of retail and office space, 2,500 homes and 25 acres of parks" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
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MOST-POWERFUL SPORTS FIGURES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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RANK
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NAME |
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1
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Rams Owner Stan Kroenke |
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2
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Wasserman Chair & CEO and LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman |
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3
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AEG Chair; NHL Kings and Galaxy Owner Phil Anschutz |
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4
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Lakers G Kobe Bryant |
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5
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Dodgers announcer Vin Scully |
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6
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L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti |
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7
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Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations Jeanie Buss |
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8
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Dodgers Chair Mark Walter |
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9
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Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer |
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10
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WME-IMG co-CEOs Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell |
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11
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AEG President & CEO Dan Beckerman |
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12
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Angels Owner Arte Moreno |
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13
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Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten |
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14
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Clippers President of Basketball Operations and coach Doc Rivers |
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15
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Dodgers P Clayton Kershaw |
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16
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TMZ Exec Producers Evan Rosenblum |
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17
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Rams coach Jeff Fisher |
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18
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Angels CF Mike Trout |
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19
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Dodgers, Sparks and LAFC co-Owner Magic Johnson |
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20
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Clippers G Chris Paul |
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21
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Boras Founder & President Scott Boras |
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22
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Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman |
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23
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L.A. Sports Council President David Simon |
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24
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UCLA AD Dan Guerrero |
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25
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Angels manager Mike Scioscia |
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INTERNATIONAL MAN: Fowler notes L.A. Mayor
ERIC GARCETTI ranked No. 6 on the list. In the past 10 months alone, Garcetti "helped end" the city's 21-year drought without the NFL and also put L.A. "within a step of joining London as the only cities in the world to have hosted three Olympic Games." Garcetti is "at once an everyman -- he is revered by hockey fans for raising a beer at the podium and dropping a celebratory profanity at the Kings' championship rally two years ago -- and an erudite diplomat ready to charm the upper crust." Neither "landing the most internationally lauded sporting event nor moving an NFL team for the first time in 19 years were high percentage plays, but only Paris, Rome and Budapest stand between L.A. achieving both under Garcetti's leadership" (
L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
TRENDING DOWNWARD: In L.A., Tom Hoffarth notes Dodgers Chair MARK WALTER this year slipped three spots to No. 8. Meanwhile, Dodgers investor MAGIC JOHNSON "plummeted from No. 3 to No. 19." Hoffarth: "Will Mark Walter become the next [late Dodgers Owner] WALTER O'MALLEY? We need a larger sample size, which will happen over time" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 5/20).
