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Billionaire Ryan Smith, the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz and NHL’s Utah Hockey Club, declined the right of first refusal to buy the state’s two main pro soccer teams late last year, according to someone familiar with the details.
Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), led by Smith and his wife Ashley, has been a limited partner in MLS’ Real Salt Lake and NWSL club Utah Royals since 2022, when a group led by David Blitzer took over. The clubs and its stadium were just sold to Gail Miller, the previous owner of the Jazz, for roughly $600 million in a deal announced on Friday.
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Prior to Miller’s deal, however, Blitzer first offered to sell the teams to Smith, giving SEG the opportunity to expand its Utah sports empire, said the person, who was granted anonymity because the details are private. The Smiths decided last fall to instead focus on their other sports assets, the person said. Following Miller’s acquisition, SEG will no longer be a minority investor in the soccer teams.
“With so much growth on the horizon for Smith Entertainment Group—from enhancing the success of our major sports franchises with the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club and supporting the reimagination of downtown Salt Lake City to running the nation’s largest youth basketball program and recently launching a youth hockey program—now is the right time to tighten our focus on the NBA, NHL and other areas where we can make the biggest impact on our state,” Smith said in a statement.
A rep for Real Salt Lake confirmed that SEG declined its right of first refusal last year.
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Smith is the co-founder of Qualtrics, a software firm headquartered in Provo, Utah, about 30 miles south of Salt Lake City. A lifelong Jazz fan, he bought control of the NBA team in 2020 in a deal that valued the club at $1.66 billion (the Miller family initially stayed on as minority investor). He expanded SEG’s Utah sports portfolio in April of last year, paying $1.2 billion to relocate the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City. The team, which played this season under the name Utah Hockey Club, is expected to announce a permanent nickname before the start of next season.
Smith is worth $2.6 billion, according to Forbes, making him one of Utah’s richest people. He has also been a vocal advocate for the state, its community and its growing tech scene, emphasized by its “Silicon Slopes” nickname. When he bought the Jazz, he called Utah a “third party” in the transaction. He’s since made “One Utah” a mantra of sorts for his sports assets, using the phrase during the announcement of the Royals’ return to NWSL.
In his statement, Smith called Miller an “ideal local steward,” and said SEG’s few years with the teams “furthered [its] ongoing mission to showcase Utah as one of the most exciting, dynamic destinations for professional sports and entertainment.”
The Jazz are worth $3.67 billion, according to Sportico’s NBA valuations. The Utah Hockey Club is worth $1.2 billion, according to Sportico’s NHL valuations.
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