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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's capital city recently became the front-runner to host the 2034 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, using a unique blend of collaboration between state, local and community leaders to gather the support needed to attract the major global event.
The coalition behind the effort to woo Major League Baseball to Utah is now using a similar approach to highlight why they believe Salt Lake City should be the home of a future MLB franchise as the league prepares for possible expansion.
Big League Utah announced Wednesday it has formed new honorary and community advisory boards, which serve as a more formal voice of support during what is expected to be a multi-year effort much like the Olympics.
The first board features Larry H. Miller Company owner Gail Miller, who first announced the creation of the coalition and MLB expansion push in April, and a mix of current and former federal, state and local leaders. They are:
- Gov. Spencer Cox
- Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton
- House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper
- Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City
- Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall
- Salt Lake City Councilwoman Victoria Petro
- Rob Bishop, former congressman
- Lowry Snow, former legislator and Point of the Mountain State Land Authority Board co-chairman
The second board is composed of 15 different business and community leaders. The two boards are meant to convey to MLB the broad support Utah has for the plan of a "shovel-ready ballpark site" located on land Rocky Mountain Power plans to redevelop into the new "Power District" on Salt Lake City's west side, said Larry H. Miller Company CEO Steve Starks, one of the members of the second board.
While the company is leading all communication efforts with MLB, Starks explains that the first board demonstrates the bipartisan political support behind the effort across levels of government. The second board also shows this "united front," but also aims to advocate the Power District and the state's market to the league, and gather advice for best practices on how to make the plan work.
Having broad support is something state and local leaders were able to champion before the International Olympic Committee named Salt Lake the "preferred host" of the 2034 Games a few weeks ago. It helps that a Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll in May found that 81% of residents polled said they either strongly or somewhat favor welcoming MLB to Utah. The same entities found similar results for a Winter Olympics bid.
"It's a great message to MLB (and) it's a great message to the other owners that look at Utah," Starks told KSL.com. "They have great government support, they have business and community support and they are united in their efforts to position themselves as the ideal expansion market."
The lone difference with the MLB movement is that it would require a team owner, which may very well be the Miller Company.
Miller previously owned the Utah Jazz before selling the team to Ryan Smith in 2020. The experience of operating a successful major sports franchise could also prove to be beneficial in Utah's MLB push.
"Utah has the ingredients for an MLB team," Cox said, pointing to all of these factors. "Third-party data proves Salt Lake City and the Beehive State can absolutely support a new professional sports team."
Those behind the measure are also working to figure out how to best support the community a new ballpark would be plugged into. In addition to the two boards, Big League Utah officials announced Wednesday that they plan to create a team foundation that seeks to "benefit west side community priorities" should Salt Lake City receive a new team.
Miller, a West High alumna, said she and her late husband have always had a "deep affection" for the community.
"Our mission is to enrich lives and create lasting impact," she said in a statement. "If we are successful in securing an expansion team, we will use this platform to support organizations and initiatives focused on the west side, its families and local businesses."
Where is MLB in the expansion process?
The timeline for any MLB expansion is still a bit foggy. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in July the league would form an expansion committee "pretty shortly" after the futures of the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays were solidified. The group is expected to review various issues, like entry fees and revenue, before the league decides to expand.
Manfred hasn't said much about the process since then. Instead, he told reporters that "every city that's interested in having an expansion franchise will have an opportunity to participate" if and when the league decides to expand, after league owners voted last month to approve the A's relocation to Las Vegas last month to settle the future of the two uncertain teams.
People love baseball in Utah and they're universally excited about the potential of an expansion franchise coming.
–Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company
Salt Lake City is one of several North American cities vying for an MLB team. It's expected that the league will add two new cities into the fold if it decides to grow. The league last expanded in 1998, bringing in the Rays and Arizona Diamondbacks.
Starks said the league is well aware of Salt Lake City's interest and Utah's capital is "on their radar." The two new boards announced Wednesday will be there for when the league begins the expansion process in earnest.
Coalition officials are continuing to gather feedback about a potential new team while they wait for further instruction. They are planning to release the findings of a survey they opened in August sometime in the coming weeks, according to Starks.
"The data was very positive," he said, summarizing what the forthcoming report will say. "People love baseball in Utah, and they're universally excited about the potential of an expansion franchise coming — and they're eager to attend games (and) buy tickets."
