Could the Utah Jazz family be adding an NHL team to Salt Lake City?

The Utah Jazz owns the Salt Lake City region and, essentially the entire state of Utah for one major reason; they're the only game in town. If you like pro sports, then you know who you have to root for and it's the Jazz. That stranglehold that the NBA team has over the region may be coming to an end, however.

Rumors abound that Salt Lake City could land its second major pro franchise, an NHL team, and Jazz owner Ryan Smith is trying to make that happen. Ryan and his wife Ashley Smith, are trying to initiate an expansion process within the NHL to bring a team to Utah. The idea would be that they would join the Jazz at the Delta Center for the interim before following them wherever they end up when the new arena is built.

The NHL seems key to expanding to the region, as the Delta Center has held five NHL exhibition games in recent years, and the league is even said to be impressed with the Smiths' desire to get an NHL team in the city.

On paper, this seems like a great idea for the area. They'll get two major sports clubs that would run in the same building during the same time of the year. The revenue would jump and the region would be buzzing with new customers. The added eyes on the product may also help other regional sports clubs, like the MLS's Real Salt Lake. The MLS is growing more and more each year, but they're not on the same level in the United States as the big four team sports of the MLB, NHL, NBA, and NFL.

Getting a second major pro league may help elevate the area, and hopefully, other teams as well. Not to mention the 2034 Winter Olympics are heading to Utah, and having two major winter sports clubs to help promote and support it would be a good thing.