While longtime Utah residents will agree that the Beehive State has had a pretty good sports scene over the years, Salt Lake City’s opportunity to host the 2002 Winter Olympics kicked off a sports boom that continues to this day. With the possibility of an MLB expansion team lurking out there, as expected, Utah looks like it could be a prime location for another growing sport.
This week, The Athletic writer Stephen J. Nesbitt called Utah the frontrunner for MLB expansion.
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What is the reason for his optimism?
Prepare. and momentum.
In his nearly 3,200-word article, “How Salt Lake City Evolved into a Sports Boomtown and MLB Expansion Frontrunner” (paywall), Nesbitt details Utah’s past success while laying the groundwork for future growth.
Utah sports fans are familiar with the past.
In 1985, Larry H. Miller purchased the Utah Jazz, saving it from relocation. Miller saw the potential and raised $8 million to keep the organization in Utah.
After a series of strategic moves, including building the Delta Center, the Jazz are thriving and their influence is helping to bridge the gap between Utah and the rest of the sports world. The Jazz won the NBA championship in 1997 and 1998.
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In 2002, the Winter Olympics came to Utah. By all indicators, the Games were considered a success.
Real Salt Lake was formed as an expansion team in Major League Soccer in 2004 and began play the following season. Most recently, Ryan Smith acquired the Jazz from Miller, bringing the Utah Mammoths to town as the newest addition to the state.
Since the last Olympics in 2002, Utah has added a professional football team, a professional hockey team and potentially a major league baseball team by 2034.
Recently, the PGA Tour returned to Utah for the first time since the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Ivins in 1963 and will continue until at least 2027.
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The athletic program at the University of Utah has also undergone an evolution. BYU is already in the Big 12, and Utah State is stuck in the top-five Pac-12 before joining a Big 12 rival in 2024. Now, Utah State will move from the Mountain West to the all-new Pac-12 conference.
Among those concerns, Nesbitt wrote, is the perception that the state is a boring place to live and visit.
Nesbitt interviewed Matthew Bowman, chair of Mormon studies at Claremont Graduate University, who said sports can moderate disparities. Utah is often viewed by the rest of the country as a “Mormon” center where there’s no fun to be had.
But experts say the 2002 Olympics changed that perception.
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After 32 years, fans will return to a very different Utah when the Winter Olympics return to the state in 2034.
Is Utah big enough for another major sports team?
Nesbitt shared an anecdote. Former two-time baseball MVP Dale Murphy moved to Utah in 1994 after retiring.
Asked whether Utah could be home to a Major League Baseball team, he responded: “Well, not a lot of people live here,” Murphy said.
But the population of the Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem corridor has roughly doubled since Major League Baseball last expanded in 1998, Nesbitt wrote. What was once a concern about expanding Utah’s sports market no longer appears to be an issue, and Utah only looks to be growing.
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Ranked No. 1 in economic prospects for 18 consecutive years, Utah has become an even more attractive place to live. As a result, Salt Lake City now has a minority Latter-day Saint presence as more and more people discover this desert gem.
Utah is currently the 28th largest media market in the United States, ranking ahead of MLB markets such as Baltimore, San Diego, Kansas City and Cincinnati.
The country will not stand idly by
Following the 2024 legislative session, a bill was passed to designate a sports and entertainment district.
The $900 million entertainment district currently centered around Delta Center has been funded to attract MLB expansion teams. If the Miller Entertainment Group-backed bid is ultimately awarded to Utah, an additional $900 million will be allocated to build a baseball stadium, Nesbitt reported.
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In this article, Utah Sen. Scott Sandel compares Utah’s proactive approach to sports expansion to a formal event. As others scrambled to get ready, he said, “We put on our tuxedos. And we arrived half an hour early.”