A bold ownership vision and a passionate sports market are fueling Salt Lake City's pursuit of an MLB franchise.
Four years ago, Ryan Smith walked a stretch of Salt Lake City’s west side with Mayor Erin Mendenhall, looking at where a Major League Baseball stadium could go. Developers and city officials had approached the Jazz owner with a proposal for the Power District, roughly 100 acres of Rocky Mountain Power land. According to emails obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, Smith showed interest, but the talks lost momentum. By December 2022, Mendenhall said baseball had dropped off his radar.
The Larry H. Miller Company learned about the site early the following year and built its baseball campaign around it, while Smith pursued hockey. Now he wants a shot at MLB, and the family that sold him the Jazz holds a key position in the stadium plan.
“Our group will be pretty aggressive in how we pursue sports,” Smith told Dan Roberts on Front Office Sports' Portfolio Players in September. “We do it our own way. We don't do a lot publicly. I actually think that's not the way expansion really gets done.”
The Families Know the Negotiating Table
They have done business before. Larry and Gail Miller acquired the Jazz in two stages in 1985 and 1986 for a combined $22 million. In 2020, the family sold Smith a majority interest in a transaction involving other assets, reportedly worth $1.66 billion. Five years later, the money moved the other way: the Millers bought control of Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals as Smith's group exited. David Blitzer stayed as a minority partner.
Their baseball interests overlap, too. Ryan and Ashley Smith appear on Big League Utah's founding coalition list from April 2023. Neither family has announced a separate competing bid. Smith brings experience running the Jazz and NHL's Mammoth, while the Millers bring a proposed location and years of political work. Any arrangement between them would have to fit the rules built around that land.
The Land Comes With Commercial Rights
Utah’s law gives a “qualified owner” a central role in negotiating the stadium agreement. It defines that party as someone owning at least 65 contiguous acres (adjoining private land) within the Fairpark district, or the owner’s affiliate. A December 2024 district resolution names LHM Dev. E, LLC, a Miller entity, as the qualified owner. Holding that designation gives the company a seat in stadium negotiations without deciding who ultimately owns the baseball franchise.
The map helps explain what the designation covers. A December 2024 city development agreement draft describes roughly 93.4 acres where the company held ownership interests and was under contract to acquire most of the property. The full Fairpark district covers about 323 acres. The documents describe the company’s development role without establishing current title to every parcel.
Under the required stadium agreement, the qualified owner would transfer the stadium land to the district, which would own the building and lease it to the team for $150,000 monthly over 3 years.
The qualified owner would control stadium sponsorship rights, pay operating and maintenance costs, and face repayment obligations if the team leaves early. These are legal requirements for a future arrangement(Utah has no awarded MLB franchise or completed team lease).
You can own a baseball team while someone else holds important rights around its home. If Smith controlled the franchise, his group would need to coordinate team sponsorships and premium seating with the stadium developer’s commercial rights.
A sponsor buying signs inside the ballpark might also want team advertising, so the parties would need to agree who sells what. The law assigns stadium sponsorships to the qualified owner, but public records do not explain how the parties would divide overlapping opportunities, including naming rights. Buying the team would leave a lot on the table to negotiate.
The Millers also have plans beyond gates. Their announced investment exceeding $3.5 billion covers the Power District development, including housing and retail. A ballpark could draw customers into those businesses, giving the family another reason to pursue baseball. The development budget is different from the money needed to buy an MLB franchise.
Public Money Covers Only Part of the Bill
The stadium framework caps the public contribution at the lesser of $900 million or half the actual development and construction cost. Funding includes district taxes and an additional 1.5% tax on short-term vehicle rentals, which can begin only after a qualifying franchise agreement takes effect by June 30, 2032.
During the 2024 debate, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore defended the arrangement by emphasizing private contributions and public ownership of the stadium. However, the rental tax would also reach Utah residents, a concern Rep. Nelson Abbott raised about who would help foot the bill.
“I recognize a lot of those taxes incur in the Salt Lake airport, which is close in proximity to where this ballpark will likely be built,” Abbott said, according to Utah News Dispatch. “But the reality of it is people rent cars all over the state.” He also called the proposed monthly rent far below market rate.
Even with stadium support, the franchise requires another check. ESPN estimates expansion fees around $2.5 billion per team; MLB has set no final price. The Padres' $3.9 billion and Angels' $4 billion sales show what established clubs command, although they cannot fix an expansion fee. You could secure the site and public funding and still need billions before printing a single cap.
Utah has attracted attention on those terms. ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote in September: “The city with the most compelling case for MLB expansion right now: Salt Lake City. It's got an owner. It's got a public-private partnership to fund a stadium.” USA Today's Bob Nightengale named Utah and Nashville the heavy favorites. Those assessments carry no franchise award, and Salt Lake City's 28th-ranked media market leaves sponsorship demand and local spending capacity relevant to MLB's review. Geographic realignment could place Utah alongside western rivals and reduce travel, but MLB has announced no division assignments.
Utah Builds While MLB Negotiates
Commissioner Rob Manfred wants two markets selected before his term ends in January 2029, with play likely starting later. First comes the labor agreement (the current deal expires December 1). MLB’s October 8 proposal calls for 154 games and a longer Division Series from 2029, but the union says the offer depends on accepting a salary cap. MLB has yet to open a formal expansion process, leaving both families waiting for labor talks and league decisions outside their direct control.
While baseball negotiates, development continues. Rocky Mountain Power’s new headquarters topped out in September, and the Millers had targeted this October for ballpark-site readiness. The target remains unconfirmed. At last year’s groundbreaking, CEO Steve Starks explained the pitch: “We continue to demonstrate we're the most ready market, that our ownership group is prepared; we have a site, that's ready to go.”
No public agreement establishes Smith's role. Mendenhall captured the site's changing fortunes in her April 2023 Tribune interview: “The Power District, I believe, is a very good idea for Major League Baseball, and I'm glad that the big idea of it reached the Millers, who are ready to carry this ambition forward, even if we had initially given it to Ryan.”
