Ryan Smith, owner of Utah Jazz wants to bring NHL to Salt Lake City - "We're ready to go"

By ADITYA KAR

Modified Jun 02, 2023 19:29 GMT

Ryan Smith is very keen on getting an NHL team to Utah. On the 32 Thoughts podcast, he again talked about his aspirations of bringing hockey to Salt Lake City.

The owner of the MLS's Real Salt Lake and the NBA's Utah Jazz, met NHL Commissioner Bettman for dinner in March in New York City.

Was he more interested in relocation or growth?

The Seattle Kraken, who played 14 playoff games in just their second season, and the Vegas Golden Knights, who are in their second Stanley Cup Final in six years, respectively, were mentioned by Smith.

"Vegas, Seattle," Smith said. "That’s a playbook to how to do (expansion). But we’re ready to go. We’ve already made that decision, we’re here to help.”

Smith will not divulge the potential team name and feels hockey fits very nicely and will be received very well like in Seattle and Las Vegas.

Salt Lake City will be the destination for the Winter Olympics in either 2030 or 2034. A new arena is going to be a part of those plans as the current capacity at Vivant Arena is limited to about 14,000 fans.

Lastly, he wants to send a message to the NHL commissioner and deputy commissioner

"My message has been consistent to Gary (Bettman) and Bill (Daly). Look, we’re a willing partner. We’re here. We’re ready," Smith said.

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Ryan Smith wanted a NHL franchise in his portfolio for a long time

Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz

Ryan Smith, the owner of the Utah Jazz, has been in charge of Utah's NBA club for over three years. In January 2022, he and David Blitzer, owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, acquired Real Salt Lake.

Smith has revealed through Twitter that he's attempting to establish yet another professional sports league in the Beehive State on Saturday.

A KSL sports anchor tweeted about the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the NHL and how thrilling he thought they had been. He appealed to Smith in the same tweet.

Following a meeting of the NBA board of governors, Smith had a meeting with Bettman, according to a March 31 article by Canadian hockey reporter Elliotte Friedman.

He wrote that time that Smith was very interested in buying the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2021. That didn't happen but the journalist reported that Smith was still interested in the NHL and the NHL was very interested in him

If Utah gets a team, then Ryan Smith will certainly be at the forefront of it.