SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz and Real Salt Lake proprietor Ryan Smith spoke candidly about the potential for some other professional sports activities franchise in Utah.
As of past due, it sounds as if Smith, who began Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), is all in at the sports activities trade. Shortly after buying the Utah Jazz, he was once a part of a bunch that purchased Utah’s MLS membership, Real Salt Lake.
“When we started SEG we made the decision that we were going into sports and if we are going in, we are going in,” Smith instructed DJ and PK throughout an unique interview on KSL Sports Zone.
. @RyanQualtrics mentioned he believes this marketplace may 100% fortify some other professional workforce however timing and availability topic.
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 19, 2022
He talked concerning the partnership with David Blitzer, who’s the opposite phase proprietor of Real Salt Lake. Blitzer’s team additionally owns a part of the Sixers, New Jersey Devils and Cleveland Guardians.
“We just brought in Arctos and this is … what they do. They own pieces of about five or six teams in every league,” Smith gave a peek in the back of the curtain, “They are in every conversation in sports.”
Can Utah/Salt Lake City Support Another Pro Sports Team? Ask Ryan Smith.
“The one thing I am 100% convinced of is that we can support it in this market, especially if you look at the growth and where it is going,” he mentioned throughout the interview.
Smith didn’t supply specifics on what recreation may come to Utah. Could it’s hockey? Maybe, the NHL fanbase in Utah turns out robust. Year after yr lovers pack Vivint Arena for the Frozen Fury, a preseason hockey sport placed on via the Los Angeles Kings. Just a couple of weeks in the past the Las Vegas Knights beat the Kings in Salt Lake City in entrance of a giant crowd, the place jerseys from greater than 20 other NHL groups have been noticed.
Or, may it’s Major League Baseball? Utahns end up yr after yr that they love evenings on the ballpark in fortify of MiLB’s Salt Lake Bees, the TripleA associate of the Los Angeles Angels.
“When we started SEG (Smith Entertainment Group) we knew we were going to focus on sports … we said if we are going in, we are going in.”
– @RyanQualtrics on the potential for some other professional sports activities workforce
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) October 19, 2022
“What type of sport is really going to depend on timing and availability. This is a multi-year process,” Smith defined. “For example, if someone wanted a new NBA team right now, no matter how great the market is … it is not overnight. No one knows when that is actually coming.”
Smith defined the choices for leagues, which might be both relocation or growth. He showed that conversations had been had about the way forward for some other professional sports activities workforce in Utah.
“We’re opportunistic and we’re super ready,” Smith gave hope to sports activities lovers in Utah who’re rooting for some other skilled workforce.
Smith’s purpose of constructing an “entertainment district” across the Jazz and Real Salt Lake is already starting to take off with enhancements to Vivint Arena, some other skilled workforce would upload to what Smith Entertainment Group is attempting to construct.
“This could provide something super powerful and something I think the state needs and definitely could support,” Smith mentioned. “It would be really cool to be a part of that.”
Now the query is, what professional league do you wish to have to peer make a house in Utah?
Listen to complete interview with Utah Jazz proprietor Ryan Smith on DJ & PK beneath.