Utah Jazz owner sells minority share in the team

While all the talk this off-season regarding the Utah Jazz has been about trades and Danny Ainge, the man above him has been making moves, as Jazz owner Ryan Smith has reportedly sold a minority share in Smith Entertainment Group to Acrtos Sports Partners, in order to help pursue his goal of bringing at least one more professional sports team to Salt Lake City. Acrtos has a big hand in plenty of sports ownership across the league, and with people becoming aware that Utah could be a great place for a new franchise in the MLB, NFL or NHL, it seems that Smith is trying to put his best foot forward in order to make that happen.

Beyond the news, there aren’t many details to share, but given the extended expansion into Las Vegas in the NHL and NFL, as well as a new team in Seattle (and rising interest in an NBA team there), it makes sense for Utah to put their hand up for an expansion team. Ultimately, this move isn’t going to effect the Jazz too much, but it’s great for Jazz fans to see that their team owner is invested in Utah and Salt Lake City, and with so many options, this could help their desire to bring a new team to town.

While the MLB seems to fit Utah more than any other, that league already sits at 32 teams, meaning that if the NFL were potentially looking to expand into markets like St. Louis (again) and other smaller markets, that Utah would be the perfect choice. Expansion has been the word on everyone’s lips for months now, and with the NBA looking to expand too, it only makes sense that MLB and potentially NFL follow suit.

We will update with further details when they come out, but as of right now, it looks like the Jazz owner is going to be aggressive in bringing further professional sports to Salt Lake City. So what do you think?