Salt Lake City checked all the boxes for a new professional sports team — particularly in the National Hockey League.
One of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. boasting one of the hottest job markets, Utah’s state capital — with the help of tech billionaire Ryan Smith — is pushing to be a sports hub.
Salt Lake City kicked off its first season in the NHL this year after the Utah Hockey Club relocated from Phoenix. The early excitement of the fanbase, marked by sellout crowds and high merchandise sales, is solidifying Salt Lake City as a sports market.
The city has been home to the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz for more than four decades. Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake and the National Women’s Soccer League’s Utah Royals are also part of its pro sports landscape. Smith Entertainment Group, founded in 2020 by Ryan and Ashley Smith, is an owner in all of those teams. Along the Wasatch Mountains, the city will also host the Winter Olympics for the second time in 2034.
“I don’t see things slowing down in Utah,” Smith said in an interview. “We have big families here, and people want to stay here.”
Barrett Hayton, #27 of the Utah Hockey Club, skates against the Vegas Golden Knights at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Nov. 15, 2024.
Jamie Sabau | National Hockey League | Getty Images
Smith was hungry to add an NHL team to the mix at a time when many, including the league’s Commissioner Gary Bettman, believed Salt Lake City was ripe for the expansion. Its growing and changing demographics — which Smith said were on display when it hosted the NBA’s All-Star Game in 2023 — had readied the city for a new team.
“Salt Lake City is known for winter sports. It has a very vibrant economy,” said Bettman in an interview. He added that the city had a major share of residents who likely would be both interested in hockey and able to afford to go to games.
The investor group alongside Smith carried out surveys and other research to determine if the city could support a new team, said Chad Hutchinson, a partner at sports-focused investment firm Arctos Partners. Not only did it show Salt Lake City wanted another team, but it also showed that the city had a strong interest in hockey.
That enthusiasm has shown since the NHL season started in October.
“Everyone walks into the bowl of the arena and they say, ‘I cannot believe the NHL is here. We have an NHL team,'” Smith said.
(L-R) Ryan Smith, Ashley Smith and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attend a media opportunity prior to the premier game for the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 8, 2024.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
So far, every one of the 11,131 unobstructed view seats at Delta Center has been sold out, according to the Utah Hockey Club. It expects to sell out every game for the rest of the season. There are 4,000 to 5,000 obstructed view seats that can be opened up depending on demand, and thousands have also been filled for most games so far.
At the inaugural game, merchandise sales doubled the previous record set during any single-night sporting event at the Delta Center. There was also a record-breaking demand for beverages, with beer sales reaching $120,000, more than any other NBA or NHL event held there, according to the team. The Utah Hockey Club generated the highest retail sales on its opening night of any hockey team this season, including the Florida Panthers, the 2023-24 Stanley Cup champions, according to the Utah Hockey Club.
The trend has continued since opening night, according to the Utah Hockey Club.
As of Nov. 15, the Delta Center had sold nearly $600,000 in beer through its first seven regular-season hockey games, nearly three times the amount of beer sold in five Utah Jazz home games this season. In total, the arena has seen a 395% increase in beer sales for NBA and NHL events compared to roughly the same period last year.
When the team’s inaugural season jerseys went on sale at the arena on Friday, the Utah Hockey Club’s team store set the record for the second-best single-game merchandise sales total during the regular season and playoffs, trailing the Vegas Golden Knights during a 2023 postseason game. It was the best NHL regular-season single-game net merchandise sales total, topping the previous record by 29%.
“Opening night was unbelievable,” said Hutchinson. The Utah Hockey Club received 34,000 season ticket deposits before opening day. “So the demand is absolutely there.”
Moving to the mountains
The NHL’s expansion to Salt Lake City was not typical.
“Utah is actually not an expansion, it’s a relocation,” said Irwin Raij, co-chair of Sidley’s Entertainment, Sports and Media industry group. “Utah wanted a team aggressively. There are other markets that want a team — heck, Arizona wants a team, right?”
People walk past the main entrance of the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on April 19, 2024.
Chris Gardner | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
The Arizona Coyotes faced issues in finding a permanent arena, which led to an expedited sale of the team this year.
A few years ago, Smith voiced his interest in owning a hockey team in Utah, said Bettman. In April, the NHL gave him the opportunity, and Smith reportedly paid $1.2 billion for the franchise. In the scramble to be ready for the 2024-25 season, Smith had to keep spending.
The Delta Center, which Smith bought along with the Utah Jazz in 2020, was immediately renovated with new hospitality areas and a locker room for the Utah Hockey Club. It will also undergo further changes to reduce the number of unobstructed view seats for hockey games. The goal is to have 17,000 seats for hockey in the next three years, with most or all having unobstructed views.
Smith also invested in a former Olympic facility for the team to use for practices over the summer. He then acquired a mall in a local suburb with plans to build a permanent training facility on the site, to be ready in 2025.
“[The Smiths] really, in effect, probably paid $200 [million] or $300 million more than is actually being reported,” Bettman said.
The hockey rink at the Delta Center is seen with “NHL in Utah” logos in Salt Lake City on April 19, 2024
Chris Gardner | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
After the deal closed, the ownership group flew team members and their families from Arizona to Salt Lake City. There was a greeting party at the airport and the ownership group hosted an event at the Delta Center over three days, said Hutchinson of Arctos Partners. Real estate agents drove everyone around looking for homes, while the Coyotes’ front office was told they had jobs in Utah.
“He was able to accomplish things in a handful of months. Nobody has ever done anything like this before,” Bettman said. “We knew we were getting people who were very involved in the community, very progressive and very tech savvy. They had the resources to make this happen.”
Smith’s sports play
While varying factors made Utah ready for a new sports team, Smith was the biggest force in making it happen.
“The Smiths, by all accounts, are good owners who are willing to invest and are thoughtful,” said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at Perkins Coie. “A lot of the leagues, looking back over the last 20-plus years, have seen people coming out of the tech world as being good owners. They understand an investment and the technology piece, which if you’re not good at that, you’re not reaching your fans where they are.”
Smith, 46, founded Qualtrics in Provo, Utah, opening the gate for other tech companies in the state. A top tech market in the U.S., it is often referred to as the “Silicon Slope.”
Ryan Smith attends a media opportunity prior to the premier game for the Utah Hockey Club at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Oct. 8, 2024.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
A lifelong Utah Jazz fan, Smith started down the path of sports in Utah when he bought the team. He said in an interview he is in his “second career.” He reportedly paid $1.66 billion for the team. The purchase was followed by his move in 2022 to invest, alongside David Blitzer, in Real Salt Lake and its National Women’s Soccer League affiliate.
Smith has helped to breathe new life into Real Salt Lake, which has seen its already-strong fanbase grow, said Chris McGowan, executive vice president and chief club performance officer at MLS. McGowan, who works with clubs on business strategies, noted how the team has built up its fanbase through season ticket sales, stadium improvements and new hires since Smith bought in.
Being an owner of multiple teams, especially in one market, also makes Smith’s job easier. His deep ties in the community have helped on that front, many in the industry said.
“When you represent multiple organizations in one market, you can go to sponsors and potential sponsors with a more powerful package,” said McGowan. “You can do a lot of things from an economy of scale.”
Utah Hockey Club has signed sponsorship partners including Delta Air Lines, SeatGeek, American Express, Ford, Verizon and Coca-Cola. In less than six months, it is pacing to be in the top 20 in the NHL for sponsorship and ticket revenue this season, according to the team, despite having less capacity than nearly every NHL franchise. It has also teamed up with local partners on various fronts.
But McGowan, who has worked with other pro sports teams in the past, including the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, which had preseason games in Salt Lake City in the past, and the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers, said sports have long been important there.
“From the first game in the arena, Gary Bettman turns to me and says, ‘They’re cheering, they’re booing and sighing at all the right moments,'” said Smith. “Which is a very good indication that there is some hockey knowledge, right?”
Correction: This story was updated to reflect that Salt Lake City hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 2023. A previous version misstated that.
