SALT LAKE CITY skyline (Wikipedia).
This is the time of year when the Angels fire their manager after another year in the basement of the American League West and the Dodgers place their orders for a World Series ring.
As fascinating as those events are, I can’t help but let my attention drift to the hottest location in the sports world …
Salt Lake City.
You may laugh, but Utah is poised to step into the limelight before long. There’s already an NBA team there – the ironically-named Jazz – and an almost-new NHL team, called Mammoth.
A city or region doesn’t truly seem big
However, a city or region doesn’t truly seem big league until it’s got at least an NFL or MLB franchise.
The NFL hasn’t expanded in a generation, and is – reportedly – on the cusp of adding at least two and perhaps four new teams.
Strongly in the running is Salt Lake/Utah, for a variety of reasons. A recent poll showed high interest there for both an NFL and a MLB team.
Salt Lake City already has a locked-in site
Salt Lake City already has a “locked-in” site for a stadium, a strong potential ownership group and $900 million available for a new stadium, funded by a recent tax increase on car rentals.
The area has experience with big sports events, having hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics and with the same coming again in 2024.
While the city is modest in population (200,000, about the same as Huntington Beach) the metro area is at 2.8 million and growing.
What’s called the Intermountain West is an attractive
What’s called the Intermountain West is an attractive area with rising population and booming tourism.
While it’s not a mortal lock yet, competing cities would have to offer a lot to get ahead of Salt Lake in line for big league pro football.
Remember, you probably read it here first.
