Kroenke looks to put Rams training site in Warner Center

Billionaire developer Stan Kroenke, owner of the Los Angeles Rams, wants to put practice fields on a former Anthem Blue Cross parking lot in the Warner Center neighborhood of Woodland Hills.

Kroenke has filed plans to build a temporary NFL training facility at 21555 Oxnard Street in the west San Fernando Valley, Urbanize Los Angeles reported, citing a rendering released by L.A. City Councilman Bob Blumenfield.

The image shows two gridirons and some temporary, low-lying modular buildings at Canoga Avenue and Erwin Street, on the northeast side of the 13-story former Anthem office building.

The proposed temporary training facility signals larger plans by Kroenke, who has invested $650 million for three Warner Center properties across 96 contiguous acres just north of the 101 Freeway. They include the Anthem site, a largely vacant Promenade mall and The Village in Woodland Hills outdoor mall.

Kroenke bought the former Anthem Blue Cross building in June 2022 for $175 million. The 450,000-square-foot vacant building is just east of The Promenade and surrounded by 32 acres of landscaped parking.

The proposed temporary training grounds would include two side-by-side football fields at Canoga and Erwin, with warehouse-like training buildings to the west. What appears to be a two-story administrative building would be built on the southeast side of the Anthem tower.

No timeline for the Rams training facility was disclosed.

In March 2022, a Kroenke affiliate bought The Promenade, a defunct indoor mall just south of The Village for $150 million. He initially planned to convert the mall at 6100 North Topanga Canyon into a practice field and headquarters for the Rams.

The 34-acre mall site has been approved for a 3.2-million-square-foot urban retail village to include more than 1,400 homes, hotels, offices and a 10,000-seat indoor sports and concert arena.

In December, Kroenke bought the 600,000-square-foot Village at 6220-6344 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard for $325 million. The seller for The Promenade and the 30-acre Village was Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, based in Paris.

Although the Kroenke Group has not revealed development plans in Woodland Hills, the company is widely expected to build a smaller version of its $5 billion, 300-acre SoFi Stadium and mixed-use Hollywood Park development in Inglewood.

— Dana Bartholomew