Salt Lake NHL and MLB News Thread

[RC14]

Some on the main SLC Development thread have complained about how much of the discussion has been taken over by conversations about the current efforts to land new professional sports teams in the area. Specifically, NHL and MLB. It looks like the moderators moved some of that discussion to the MSA thread but I don't think that is the place for it either so I am creating a new thread for this topic.

For context, here is a link to a KSL article about the MLB efforts:

How does Salt Lake City stack up to Major League Baseball expansion competition?

https://ksltv.com/541136/how-does-sa...n-competition/

..and Ryan Smith's efforts to land us an NHL team:

Ryan Smith says bringing the NHL to Utah is ‘in motion’

https://www.deseret.com/sports/2023/...h-is-in-motion

[Atlas]

With the "Big League Utah" announcement awhile back that explicitly identified the Power District as a "sports entertainment district", and with the diminishing office market that may be permanent with the rise of WFH, I think SLC has a leg up on "The Point" to get the NHL/Jazz arena too.

[RC14]

Jazz owner talks new TV partnership, possibility of bringing NHL team to Utah

"Timing is everything and it could be months, it could be years, but I think there's a lot of mutual respect and it's a perfect fit for everything that we want to do. We're aligned, but we want to do it right as well," Smith said about his communication with the NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.


While he acknowledged that discussions of a new arena may be getting ahead of schedule, Smith revealed Utah offers options for where to put a new arena...

https://kjzz.com/news/local/jazz-own...-brand?src=rss

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by Atlas

With the "Big League Utah" announcement awhile back that explicitly identified the Power District as a "sports entertainment district", and with the diminishing office market that may be permanent with the rise of WFH, I think SLC has a leg up on "The Point" to get the NHL/Jazz arena too.

Do you have a link to the announcement they're creating a sports entertainment district?

There's nothing on the actual site: https://www.slcpowerdistrict.com/

(to be fair, the site hasn't been updated in a while it seems - as it doesn't even mention their association with Big League Utah)

I am not saying you're wrong but the only mention I've heard about a sports district, with the potential of a NHL arena, came from the initial report breaking the news from Building Salt Lake. They mentioned a source that said the site could become home to a NHL team - but there hasn't been anything beyond that I've been able to find.

I know Ryan Smith was initially approached by Mayor Mendenhall and a few others who wanted to have him commit to bring a MLB team to Salt Lake but communication stopped on his end as he kind of just ghosted those associated with the project after an initial meeting. That's when the Millers came into the picture.

But even still, I would be disappointed if the Power District was the site of a NBA/NHL arena because it's still not downtown - and it would remove a central focus of downtown that could still be devastating.

Granted, I'd still like that over Layton or the Point of the Mountain but it would be a disappointment.

[wrendog]

Not MLB, NHL or even SLC related, but huge news for Utah in the sports world


PGA tour is coming to Black Desert golf course in Ivins (St George)

This is big!
https://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/ar...-2024-or-2025/

[delts145]

That is major news Wrendog. That and I had no idea that the Black Desert Resort surrounding the Course was going to be such a big deal. Between the Mighty Five, the St. George area and the Wasatch, Utah is becoming one of the biggest four-season tourist draw States. The Park City/Heber area is becoming quite the golfing mecca also. Tiger Woods is planning a new course adj. to the new Mayflower Ski Resort. Having all of the existing courses in the Park City/Heber area like Red Ledges plus Tiger's new course is going to be a big deal. Few States can match the scenic backdrops that Utah's courses have in abundance.

[Comrade]

No. This isn't going to work. You can't update this thread with golf. That's just inappropriate.

[RC14]

I probably should have called it the Salt Lake Sports thread or something like that. But. We are talking about St George here so, I guess it still wouldn't work.

Really cool for Utah overall though.

[Jbash]

So not NHL or MLB related, but I stumbled on some interesting SLC related sports discussion today. I'm a big fan of motorsports, including NASCAR. This past week, NASCAR held its first ever street race in Chicago, and it was a smashing success, it completely blew expectations out of the water and was an instant classic of the modern era. In motorsports as a whole, street races are becoming a more popular option as they are cheaper and bring the racing closer to the fans. Building and maintaining purpose built circuits is costly, but street races can be done in a single weekend (with a few weeks of preparation beforehand) for much cheaper. Anyways, NASCAR is clearly interested in doing more street races, and this week put our a poll on their socials asking where people would be interested in seeing a NASCAR street race. The second most popular option? Salt Lake City, which really surprised me, but everyone was mentioning things like the views and wide streets and the geographic hole of racing in America that Salt Lake City could fill. The kicker tho was the NASCAR admin responding with something along the lines of "we'll keep our eyes on that option." The Chicago street race had over 100,000 attendees and over 4 million TV viewers, so there was a lot of eyes on it, and the city pulled in tens of millions in revenue from it. Now I'd imagine there isn't a lot of nascar fans on this forum, but I'm sure everyone could piece together an opinion on hosting a large motorsport event here, the effects it would have on our city, pros and cons, etc. I'm putting this here in this thread since it's becoming our defacto sports thread. Personally I think it'd be awesome if in the next 5 to 10 years we can get 2 new major league teams and a nascar race to the city, in addition to a possible Olympics announcement. It'd really solidify us as a sporting city

[RC14]

Anecdotally, from what I have seen, streetracing seems to be quite popular here. Not sure how it compares to other cities.

I have never cared about NASCAR but streetracing sounds allot more interesting than what they currently offer.

[bob rulz]

I couldn't care less about NASCAR or racing, and I don't like the thought of such a big disruption to traffic and bus routes for something like that. I guess my personal opinion depends on how much disruption it would cause, what route it would take, etc. Seems like it would be far more disruptive than a parade or even the marathon.

But it would bring a lot of money and people like it, so ce la vie I guess.

[Blah_Amazing]

Saw this and thought I'd share it. Agree with him that the renderings aren't the best. It would be nice to get both a better rendering and a full plan for The Power District from RMP.

• Video Link

[delts145]

Another wildly successful UFC event has Utah dreaming of Year 3 — and more

https://www.ksl.com/article/50697820...ar-3--and-more

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by delts145

Another wildly successful UFC event has Utah dreaming of Year 3 — and more

https://www.ksl.com/article/50697820...ar-3--and-more

Gonna be exciting to see these out in Draper. The winner can hit up Swig afterwards!

[mstar]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Gonna be exciting to see these out in Draper. The winner can hit up Swig afterwards!

Comrade, let's not stop there! Let's hit both Swig and Crumble!

[ajiuO]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Do you have a link to the announcement they're creating a sports entertainment district?

There's nothing on the actual site: https://www.slcpowerdistrict.com/

(to be fair, the site hasn't been updated in a while it seems - as it doesn't even mention their association with Big League Utah)

I am not saying you're wrong but the only mention I've heard about a sports district, with the potential of a NHL arena, came from the initial report breaking the news from Building Salt Lake. They mentioned a source that said the site could become home to a NHL team - but there hasn't been anything beyond that I've been able to find.

I know Ryan Smith was initially approached by Mayor Mendenhall and a few others who wanted to have him commit to bring a MLB team to Salt Lake but communication stopped on his end as he kind of just ghosted those associated with the project after an initial meeting. That's when the Millers came into the picture.

But even still, I would be disappointed if the Power District was the site of a NBA/NHL arena because it's still not downtown - and it would remove a central focus of downtown that could still be devastating.

Granted, I'd still like that over Layton or the Point of the Mountain but it would be a disappointment.

Totally disagree. I think North Temple is perfect. It really could be become an extension of downtown. Also there is a huge plot of land currently occupied by RVs across the street… years in the future that might offer a good opportunity to expand a sports complex for the NFL (it will be a while)… but we also have the fair park on North Temple… and the whole street is rapidly being redeveloped. I really do feel like it could just become an extension of downtown town… a sports and big events district. then that leaves space for skyscrapers in the central downtown district.

I actually think the Delta Center should be moved to this new sports district on North Temple, along with the baseball stadium, to be used for hockey and basketball. I think that the current Delta Center should be demolished and used for a salt Palace expansion. if we want to maintain big conventions like outdoor retailer, we really need to think about that. The parking lot block that is currently being used by larger conventions is not going to be there forever. The block where the current Delta Center sits offers a perfect opportunity for convention expansion and also connect it with Gateway entertainment district.


As for the current Delta Center, it’s definitely got to go. Even after its extensive remodel, it still considered a joke and outdated within the NBA. They should’ve just rebuilt it in the first place, and not wasted the money. Whether or not you think North Temple is perfect. It’s a hell of a lot better than moving it to West Jordan or Draper. I won’t be going to any games out there that’s for sure.

[Comrade]

It won't ever become an extension of downtown.

You literally have a massive interstate dividing the two - not to mention the tracks.

It can be a unique little area but it absolutely will not be an extension of downtown.

[downtownslcresident]

Originally Posted by Comrade

It won't ever become an extension of downtown.

You literally have a massive interstate dividing the two - not to mention the tracks.

It can be a unique little area but it absolutely will not be an extension of downtown.

I don’t see why not. Phoenix has a massive interstate separating its downtown core from its CenPho area. I admit that it’s not exactly considered “downtown” but over time I could see the two merging. I could see the same happening in SLC with North Temple / Fairpark. Granted, I-10 in PHX is underground at that point, but if designed right, I don’t think the interstate has to be a major barrier. I think projects like the rio grande plan will go a long way toward helping that.

[RC14]

I don't think it will ever be considered "downtown" but it doesn't really matter. It could still become a very interesting, downtown adjacent neighborhood. In 10 years, I don't think North Temple will be anything like what it is.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by downtownslcresident

I don’t see why not. Phoenix has a massive interstate separating its downtown core from its CenPho area. I admit that it’s not exactly considered “downtown” but over time I could see the two merging. I could see the same happening in SLC with North Temple / Fairpark. Granted, I-10 in PHX is underground at that point, but if designed right, I don’t think the interstate has to be a major barrier. I think projects like the rio grande plan will go a long way toward helping that.

Maybe when we're about to check out in 40 years.

But it seems unlikely we'll see a true connected area in our lifetime.

It can still be an interesting entertainment area. I do worry it will directly compete with downtown, tho.