NHL in Salt Lake City: passionate billionaire wants to fulfill his next big dream

There is no doubt that the NHL will welcome another organization into the family in the coming years. It’s not even a question of if, but when. Quite possibly it will be as early as next year, unless a miracle happens and Arizona gets a new arena. One of the hot candidates for their franchise is Salt Lake City.

The Coyotes have been in the NHL since 1996. The organization has undergone a dramatic evolution over the years, but now their future is literally hanging over the precipice. They have one major problem – they have nowhere to play.

Or rather, they do, but the 4,500-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University certainly doesn’t give the NHL a very dignified impression. Moreover, the surrounding residents have no interest in a hockey arena in the area, so in a way, only a miracle would keep Arizona in the NHL.

If the black scenario comes true to the last lines, the Coyotes may have to pass the baton to someone else in a year. Someone who will be a much more promising partner in the American hockey market.

Salt Lake City is in the running

When you say Salt Lake City, most sports fans probably think of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Neither hockey nor sports entertainment are foreign concepts to the locals.

And Bill Daly (NHL Deputy Commissioner) confirmed that Salt Lake City is indeed seriously interested in joining the best hockey league in the world. The specific interested party is one Ryan Smith, a billionaire and co-founder of Qualtrics, an online survey software company. It is with him that Bill Daly has been in close contact for some time.

“We’ve certainly talked to Ryan Smith and he’s indicated that he’s interested in bringing the NHL to Salt Lake City,” Daly said during Commissioner Gary Bettman’s State of the Union press conference in Las Vegas before the Stanley Cup finals. His words were quoted by The Athletic.

Smith told the same server that there are a number of reasons why Salt Lake City is well prepared for the NHL. And that the organization would do just as well here as it did in Vegas and Seattle.

The combination of basketball and hockey

Interest in the sport is high in this part of America, he said, as evidenced by the NBA numbers. “If you look at our Utah Jazz, we’ve sold out about 240 games in a row in the NBA with three different team lineups,” Smith noted. Basketball is Smith’s biggest passion, but hockey is right behind.

He’s the kind of guy who makes his dreams come true by earning billions. In 2020, he just bought the Utah Jazz, a team that has been his passion since childhood. Now he’d like to add a hockey club to the showcase of his hobbies. He believes the NHL would be a good fit in his growing market.

Salt Lake City wouldn’t have a problem in terms of an arena either. The Vivint Arena downtown, which will be renamed the Delta Center starting July 1, underwent a major renovation in 2017. It’s where the Jazz play, so the arena could also host NHL games. Still, Smith believes it wouldn’t be a permanent solution.

“We’re going to need a new arena building in the next 20 years regardless of this discussion,” noting that a new arena will likely be built in Salt Lake City anyway. If only for the sake of the next Olympics, which the city would like to welcome back in the near future.

If the NHL is interested in Salt Lake City in the coming years, all they have to do is pick up the phone. Then it could be a fairly quick process. And it makes virtually no difference to Smith whether it’s a move of the organization from Arizona or a brand new NHL team.

Commissioner Gary Bettman also knows of his serious interest. After all, he’ll probably be the one who ultimately has the final say. “I think the NHL knows what we can bring,” the Utah billionaire is convinced.

Source: NHL, The Athletic