Wednesday brought some news that Ryan Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group have formally requested the NHL to initiate an expansion process to eventually bring an NHL team to Salt Lake City. It’s no new news that Smith is heavily interested in bringing a team to northern Utah, especially after last year when he met with commissioner Gary Bettman. It’s also not new to hear the NHL is very interested in partnering with Smith. Why Salt Lake City, though, over cities like Houston, Atlanta, and Quebec City?
It’s an Untapped Market
Population-wise, Salt Lake City is the biggest city in Utah. It ranks 119th in all of the United States, with a population of 203,175.
There’s currently only one of the four major league sports teams in Salt Lake City, and that’s the NBA’s Utah Jazz, which Smith owns. The Jazz usually end up in the top half of the league in terms of attendance, with an average this season of 18,206. That’s even better when you take into consideration that the team hasn’t been doing so well this season as they progress through their rebuild.
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Outside of the Jazz, there’s not another pro sports team in the state. The closest would either be most of the Denver-located sports teams or the Las Vegas sports teams. An NHL team in Salt Lake City would also tap into northern, if not all, of Utah, western Wyoming, and southern Idaho. They won’t share a market with an NFL or MLB team, meaning that most of the focus will be on the Jazz and the hockey team.
It Has a Hockey History
Since 1969, Salt Lake City has had a presence of hockey. The Salt Lake Golden Eagles began play in the Western Hockey League. The Golden Eagles were affiliated with a couple of different NHL teams, like the California Golden Seals, Buffalo Sabres, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins, during their time in the WHL.
The team moved to the CHL in 1974, winning the league’s championship, the Adams Cup, in the first season of competing in the league. The team won back-to-back Adams Cups in 1980 and 1981.
Eventually, the league folded, and the Golden Eagles moved into the International Hockey League. In the IHL, the team won back-to-back Turner Cups in 1987 and 1988. Throughout the team’s history in the IHL, they were affiliated with the New York Islanders and the Calgary Flames.
The Golden Eagles were sold to a Detroit-focused ownership group in 1994 and relocated. Many NHL players came through Salt Lake City and played for the Golden Eagles, like Theo Fleury, Charlie Simmer, Mike Vernon, and Joey Mullen.
The city didn’t have to wait long for its next hockey team. After the Colorado Avalanche moved from Quebec, the IHL Denver Grizzlies moved into town. The Grizzlies didn’t wait long to impress their new fans, winning the Turner Cup in their first season in Utah. The fourth and championship-clinching game was held in Delta Center (home of the Jazz) and set the attendance record for a minor league hockey team at 17,381.
The Grizzlies existed until new owners moved the team to Cleveland in 2005, but they would quickly be resurrected in the same year as a team in the ECHL with new owners. They’ve played in the league ever since winning a division championship and having a current affiliate with the Avalanche.
The Grizzlies are in the top 10 in attendance in the ECHL, currently with an average of 5,114 people per game. They play out of Maverik Center, which was built for the 2002 Winter Olympics and which the city might host again come 2030.
The city also has had a native hockey player make the NHL. Trevor Lewis was born in Salt Lake City but eventually moved to Colorado to continue playing hockey. Lewis was drafted 17th overall by the Los Angeles Kings, where he won two Stanley Cups. The forward returned to his hometown to play with the Grizzlies during the 2012 lockout.
Lewis lives in Utah during the offseason and says that ice time is limited now during the summers due to the newfound popularity of the sport. He also knows the city would be a great place for an NHL team, especially after the successes of the two latest expansion teams.
“Vegas and Seattle, they’re very excited to have new hockey teams there — those two buildings are buzzing,” he said to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune (Larsen, 2023). “I think Salt Lake would be the same. I think the city would embrace the team. Hockey’s a really fun sport to go to watch live. I think the more people that they could get to see it live, they would realize how much fun it is, and it would obviously grow the game from there.”
They Have Two NHL-Ready Arenas Already…Kind Of
The Delta Center opened in 1991 and is owned by Smith. The arena was renovated recently back in 2017 and has hosted hockey numerous times in the past. Its first event was a Golden Eagles game, and it also hosted the Grizzlies in the 90s. Since 2021, the arena has hosted preseason games between the Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights until this past season, when the San Jose Sharks subbed in for the Golden Knights.
The arena has an official capacity of 14,000 for hockey, but the preseason games have cut the capacity to 10,420. The Delta Center wouldn’t be a permanent solution, however, as the NHL wants arenas to have a bigger capacity. During the preseason games, some fans struggled to see the corners of the rink due to seating. Cameras were propped up in weird places, and there was no rinkside seating.
There’s also Maverik Center, which holds 10,100 people. It’s hosted the Grizzlies ever since 1997. But the two issues for that arena are that it’s not owned by Smith, and it is smaller than the typical NHL capacity.
Both arenas would be fine for hockey if the NHL expanded tomorrow and would be a temporary solution while Smith and the ownership group build an NHL arena. He’s stated this in interviews and is confident that he can get one built.
The NHL Gets Ryan Smith
There’s no doubt that the NHL wants to keep expanding, especially after the success of the Seattle Kraken and the Golden Knights. There’s also no doubt Smith is a man that the NHL wants to work with. He is worth $2.1 billion and is the executive owner of Qualtrics. He currently owns the Jazz (with Delta Center) and co-owns the Real Salt Lake of the MLS.
Smith and his wife Ashley have done a lot of the community of Salt Lake City, now residing there full time. They’ve been committed to keeping the Jazz in the city and have had constant communication with the NHL for the past two years. So much so that the NHL released a statement praising the Smiths for their effort so far after they officially requested for the NHL to start the expansion process, confirming that the league is interested in the market.
“The NHL appreciates the interest expressed by Smith Entertainment Group to bring NHL hockey to Utah,” the statement said. “During conversations over the course of the past two years, we have been impressed by Ryan and Ashley Smith’s commitment to their community and their passion and vision for Utah, not only as a hockey market, but as a preeminent sports and entertainment destination. Utah is a promising market, and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”
Potential Rivalries Are Already Set Up
The nice thing about putting a team in Salt Lake City is that there is almost a circle of teams around them. To the east are the Avalanche, to the south are the Coyotes and the Golden Knights, to the west are all the California teams, and somewhat to the north are the Kraken.
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Salt Lake City would most likely end up in the Central Division since they’re located in Mountain Standard Time Zone. That would put them in the same division as the Avalanche and the Coyotes. The Denver Nuggets already have a rivalry with the Jazz, so a Denver/Salt Lake City battle wouldn’t be new. With the cities being in decent proximity (Phoenix being only an hour and a half flight away), it could be a nice rivalry just waiting to happen.
While other cities might look more attractive for the NHL because of their deep, rich hockey history or higher population, Salt Lake City has a lot of things that many cities don’t have yet. They have a viable temporary arena, an ownership group that is deeply committed to the community and getting an NHL arena, a market that hasn’t been tapped by most professional sports leagues, and a hockey history that spans back to 1969. With interest from both sides, it’s only a matter of time until Smith gets his wish for an expansion team in Salt Lake City. When it happens, it’ll be a massive win for the NHL.
