SALT LAKE CITY – Once an afterthought in the world of professional sports, Salt Lake City and the State of Utah are making a claim as a veritable sports boomtown.
Utah had just one pro sports franchise at the start of the 21st century. 26 years later, the state has become a burgeoning hub for elite competition.
In a recent appearance on KSL Sports Zone, The Athletic senior MLB writer Stephen Nesbitt said Utah may surprise outsiders who haven’t followed its growth.
“From a national perspective, I think a lot of people don’t realize all that has been going on in Salt Lake City,” Nesbitt warned.
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The state has already proven its appetite, as evidenced by the enormous support for the NHL’s Utah Mammoth in less than two years.
The 2027 Winter Classic, the NHL’s showcase game, is coming to Rice-Eccles Stadium, and the Delta Center has already become one of the loudest arenas in the league.
As the end of Commissioner Rob Manfred’s term approaches in 2028, Major League Baseball expansion conversations are getting louder.
When asked about Utah’s chances, Nesbitt said, “Today, I don’t see another market that has the boxes checked that Salt Lake City does… At this point, I think the odds are Salt Lake City. But a lot can change in the coming years.”
Geography becomes an Unlikely Advantage
Utah’s geographic isolation could become a selling point. MLB’s current markets create a massive geographic gap in the Mountain West—a gap Salt Lake City naturally fills.
The last thing any of MLB’s 30 owners want in expansion is for an existing fan base to suffer as a new franchise joins a similar region of the country.
A team in Nashville would be within a 5-hour drive of the Atlanta Braves (248 miles), Cincinnati Reds (243 miles), and St. Louis Cardinals (253 miles).
Out West, Portland is only 174 miles from Seattle and the Mariners.
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“The closer things are bunched together, the more problematic it becomes. And this does sort of fit one of those geographic gaps,” Nesbitt said of Utah’s locale.
Denver’s Colorado Rockies remain the closest MLB team to Salt Lake City at 519 miles, while Arizona’s Diamondbacks are nearly 700 miles away.
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That distance helps ensure a Utah-based team wouldn’t cannibalize neighboring fans—a significant checkmark in MLB’s expansion criteria.
Geography is only part of the equation. Momentum from the Utah legislature could be a more important factor in its MLB pitch.
Utah community supports Big League Utah Coalition
A dream that began in 2022 for the Larry H. Miller Company culminated in April 2023 with the announcement of the Big League Utah Coalition, a community-wide partnership spanning business leaders, elected officials, and sports personalities that seeks to bring an MLB team to Utah.
The often-tedious process of securing public funding has largely proven simple for the LHM Sports + Entertainment group.
Utah’s legislature has embraced the project, allowing Governor Spencer Cox to sign two significant bills—HB562 and SB272—each allocating $900 million in long-term public funding during the 2024 legislative session.
HB562 allocates funding for the surrounding Fairpark neighborhood development, assuming Utah is awarded an expansion team by 2032.
SB272 sets up what legislators are calling a “revitalization zone” for downtown Salt Lake, possibly including a new arena for the Utah Jazz and Mammoth.
The Miller Company already owns the Power District land identified for a potential stadium, smoothing the development planning process.
With community backing, legislative support, and a unique geographic position, Utah has assembled a compelling case for MLB expansion. Now, the final decision rests with Major League Baseball’s leadership.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.