Big League City: Big League States: Part 2, Salt Lake/Utah

"Big League City: Big League States | The real advantage is held by the sports team" is a follow up to "Big League City:  Small Cities." 

The latter is a bit of a review of the book Big League City, about the landing of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team and how it was of key importance to the sense of the city's self worth and inter/national branding because of how the NBA is followed around the world.

Big League States discusses this belief and competition for teams at another scale, how in metropolitan areas spanning states, states can be outbid by the other.  This has happened in Kansas, where the Chiefs football team will be moving from Missouri.  In NYC, where the two professional football teams are actually located in New Jersey.  In DC, where the football team has been in Maryland for almost 30 years, and is returning to DC after a big handout in incentives.  And it's a battle in Illinois, where Indiana is making a credible bid for the Chicago Bears.

This comes up again with Utah, more specifically Salt Lake, as The Athletic has penned a story "How Salt Lake City evolved into a sports boomtown — and MLB expansion frontrunner." It's not about competition between states like in Illinois, but more about a state becoming more prominent in the professional sports world.

Sports-wise the city and state have evolved since the 2002 Winter Olympics. 

While graduates of University of Utah and BYU are heavily invested in their football and basketball teams and the intra-state rivalry--BYU is also great in running, and Utah in gymnastics ("A Winning Formula: Utah’s college sports score big for communities and universities," Gardner Institute), there is the Jazz NBA team which for some years almost won the national championship, but the Olympics and adding a decent for a city its size light rail repositioned the city.

Pro soccer team came to the suburbs--although there are tons of pro soccer teams, it's not a particular distinctive addition to a community's sports scene to my way of thinking.

But like how the Thunder came to Oklahoma City from Seattle as an example of serendipity and the willingness to seize opportunity that I discuss in the case of cities like Bilbao (Guggenheim Museum) and Liverpool (EU Capital of Culture) [see "Why can't the "Bilbao Effect" be reproduced? | Bilbao as an example of Transformational Projects Action Planning" and "Liverpool regeneration as a process for regaining relevance at the regional, national, and global scales"] Salt Lake's jump into higher levels of the pro ranks is about serendipity too, in this case money.

The Utah Mammoth logo.

The economically sputtering Phoenix Coyotes finally destroyed all their goodwill with their host city and could no longer use the professionally-sanctioned arena.  Forced to use a small college arena, the team had to get a commitment to a new arena, or it would have to be moved.  They didn't get the arena, and Silicon Slopes Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith swooped in to buy the team--after recently purchasing the Jazz.

Now the Phoenix Coyotes are the Utah Mammoth.

There are complaints about the branding for the Olympics, both from shifting from focusing on Salt Lake to the State of Utah, and because the text is hard to read--the graphic designer defended it, saying he drew from the natural rock arches in Arches National Park ("Gov. Cox 'gets the criticism' for transitionary Olympic logo, jokes logo unified Utah," KUTV).

The article discusses how the city held the NBA All Star Game, not so great financially ("NBA All Star Game in Salt Lake, economic development hype | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on the Pirates baseball team economics"), the state has won the 2032 round of the Winter Olympics, and is in good position to get a baseball team.

Salt Lake's metropolitan area is at the low end of population for a pro team, even smaller than cities like Pittsburgh or Kansas City, where city size is used as an excuse for the difficulty of those teams to compete with teams in much larger communities, but like with hockey, there is a wealthy, well connected owner in the wings.  

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Construction nears completion at The Ballpark at America First Square in South Jordan on Wednesday, March 26, 2025.

The Larry H. Miller Companies had been one of the largest automobile dealership groups in the country--the family sold it off a few years ago, and they got a $1 billion for the Jazz, and are active in real estate--they moved their minor league baseball team the Bees to the suburban Daybreak area in South Jordan, not because it would make more money as a team, but to provide a high profile amenity to an area where they are heavily invested in real estate. 

Despite selling the Jazz they didn't abandon professional sports.  They kept ownership of the Bees baseball team, and stepped up to buy the soccer franchise after the then owner got caught up in various controversies ("Larry H. Miller family buys Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC," Salt Lake Deseret News).  So they're all in.

(LHM Company) The Larry H. Miller Company released new renderings for its plans for the Power District development on Salt Lake City’s west side on Feb. 15, 2024. The 100-acre site along North Temple is where the Miller’s proposed Major League Baseball stadium would be built.

The Millers expressed their interest in a baseball team, put together a proposal and concept plan for a stadium and got the State Legislature to commit to $1 billion funding.

Because of their minor league ties, of the cities vying for a team now--Portland and Nashville are in the mix--the Miller Group is better connected.  Plus they are the ownership group pushing the bid, backed with real money, unlike the Nashville quest.

Interestingly, without text, the Utah Jazz logo is place-less.

Serendipity/Seizing the opportunity.  AND, as The Athletic points out, the State Legislature has put forth $1 billion for a baseball team (after already putting up $1 billion for a revitalized arena for basketball and hockey and an adjacent sports and entertainment district).  

They've put forth plans for a baseball anchored development, the Ballpark District, slightly west of Downtown, centered on an electricity plant due to be decommissioned.

So you have connections + money + Legislative dough + a solid proposal for a stadium.

It's likely = to a winning bid.

Money for billionaires.  Interestingly, while the State is fine with providing big money to the NBA/NHL and MLB, the pitch for the Olympics was from the beginning, "no state money" only private and other sources, including the LDS Church! which doesn't seem appropriate from a use tithing money to help people perspective ("LDS Church pledges ‘significant financial donation’ to support Utah’s 2034 Olympics," Salt Lake Tribune)..

(The Church owns a lot of income property downtown, where festivities will be held, and may see this as an investment in that area, "Mormon-Backed Mall Breathes Life into Salt Lake City," New York Times).

It'd seem like it should be the opposite, billionaires pay, nonprofit initiatives get money.  Although now some monies seem to be going towards the Olympics ("Utah tax money will 'probably' be spent on 2034 Olympics," KUTV).

One rendering of an MLB stadium shows a kind of wide river there suitable for water-based attractions.  The Jordan River isn't that wide and without water diversion, can't support such a facility.

Conclusion.  I don't know what to think.  Basically, except for money spent by out of area visitors, sports spending is merely an element of household spending on entertainment and doesn't add much to the local GDP.  

While this is known, knowing where their bread is buttered, the Gardner Institute of Politics at the University of Utah is all in ("If they come, we will build it: Lawmakers back MLB, NHL pursuits with nearly $2B. Now what happens?," Deseret News).

But since these projects are approved without regard to economics, my focus is how to best mitigate potential problems and add value as best as possible through community investment.  These aims are discussed in these blog entries:

-- "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities," 2021

-- "Revisiting "Framework of characteristics that support successful community development in association with the development of professional sports facilities" and the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team + Phoenix Coyotes hockey," 2022
-- "Stadiums and arenas as the enabling infrastructure for "money-making" platforms," 2014
-- "Good quote on arenas and stadiums as "performing arts centers" attractions for cities," 2024
-- "Sports facilities and the reproduction of retail space often doesn't work for the locals," 2025
-- "You get what you plan for: the multi-use Miami Hard Rock Stadium versus typical football stadiums | Washington Commanders," 2025
-- "Another example of RFPs versus plans and letting developers set the agenda: stadium projects in Chicago," 2025