NHL expansion to Utah? We’re serious, said a prospective bidder and submitted an application

Who’s next? There’s no question if the NHL will be the next destination anytime soon. Rather, the question is when and where it will be. There are a number of interested parties. But one stands out above the rest. It is Ryan Smith, who is also the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz basketball team.

Not too long ago, NHL officials said publicly that they are not considering the idea of a new organization in the NHL at this time. They will have to turn around, however, because there is indeed a serious bidder.

Ryan Smith, who is the owner of the Utah Jazz as well as the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), which is the parent company of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, among others, has come forward. He’s mentioned more than once before that he’d be interested in owning an NHL team in the U.S. market as well. But on Wednesday, he’s already sent an official application straight to the league’s management.

Specifically, Smith Entertainment Group released a statement saying it “has officially applied to the National Hockey League (NHL) to begin the expansion process with the ultimate goal of bringing an NHL club to Utah“. Yes, Atlanta, Houston and Quebec City have also applied for glory in the world’s most famous hockey league, but none of them have moved their interest to the official process.

“We’ve decided to take the next formal step and we’re serious about it! We’re absolutely serious,” Ryan Smith said in an interview with The Athletic. This form of direct action takes the whole process up a level. It’s no longer just within the realm of theory.

However, definitely don’t think Smith threw the request at NHL commissioner Gary Bettman like a bolt from the blue. The owner of an NBA basketball team is well aware that maintaining above-standard relations with the NHL boss is absolutely essential.

Expansion or relocation?

“We’ve been talking for a really long time,” admitted Smith, who wanted to make it clear with this move that they were ready to enter the NHL. He admitted that he’s partnered with many well-known people in the business, including David Blitzer. The owner of the New Jersey Devils and the MLS (Major League Soccer) team in Salt Lake City. It is Salt Lake City that is the most talked about in connection with the NHL.

“I know a lot of these people. So to put it on paper and say, ‘Hey, here sits one of the hottest markets in the world,’ is compelling. We want to give them something they can look at that’s really hard to say no to. Hopefully it’s not a question of if, but just when,” Smith said outright.

The press release makes specific mention of an NHL expansion team. That is, Utah would join the competition in the same way the Las Vegas Knights and Seattle Kraken have in recent cases. However, that doesn’t mean that Ryan Smith wouldn’t go another route.

“Our first and foremost focus was to make sure the NHL would thrive in Utah. We want to respect the expansion process and we don’t want to take anything away from other groups or teams,” he admitted. Between the lines, however, he also suggested that it wasn’t so important what form the NHL would take in Utah.

We’ll build a hockey arena in Utah!

Moving Arizona, for example, may be in play in the next few years. The latter still plays its NHL games in an arena with a capacity of less than 5,000 spectators. Moreover, it doesn’t look like anything will change in the next few years, although the club’s owners are trying to negotiate as hard as they can.

Utah could offer the facilities almost immediately. In the early years, it would play in a multi-purpose arena called the Delta Center, which is the home of the Utah Jazz.

“Note that the request also suggests the team has the immediate ability to bring a team to market with the current Delta Center as a temporary home until a new rink is built for the 2034 Olympics,” wrote respected overseas journalist Elliote Friedman. This gives Salt Lake City one more ace up its sleeve.

But that doesn’t mean the hockey and basketball teams will be sharing the same sandbox forever in the future: “We want to add value to the NHL. We want to bring a lot more than we take,” Smith believes.

He added that his company wouldn’t have applied if it wasn’t sure it could handle the challenge. He takes the building of a brand new hockey arena in the next few years for granted.

Source: NHL, The Athletic