'It's not a moment, but a movement:' Lindsey Vonn joins Utah Royals ownership keen on empowering women, community
'It's not a moment, but a movement:' Lindsey Vonn joins Utah Royals ownership keen on empowering women, community
Lindsey Vonn's presence in the Utah Royals' ownership group shaped by Ryan Smith and David Blitzer was never an accident. Far from it.
David Blitzer recalled the first time he spoke with Olympic and world champion skier Lindsey Vonn about partnering on the return of Utah Royals FC to her adopted home state.
The longtime Park City resident who has spent most of her time in Utah since she moved there in 2001, training for her initial Olympic debut at 17 had already been invested in women’s soccer with Angel City FC and the club’s MLS counterpart LAFC. But would Vonn, one of the greatest alpine skiers of her generation who retired in 2019 with three individual Olympic medals and eight world championships, be interested in moving over to an expansion club re-launching in 2024?
“I could give 100 reasons why it’s really great to have Lindsey Vonn as a partner and working with us,” Blitzer recalled during a press conference flanked by two of his co-owners an hour before Utah’s first match of the 2024 season.
Blitzer and his partner, Utah Jazz majority owner Ryan Smith, were prepared to sell Vonn on the idea with facts, figures and some negotiating after several combined decades in sports and business.
Smith, too, was prepared to pull out whatever stops he needed. Years earlier, Vonn had worked with Dwyane Wade — a minority owner in the Smith Entertainment Group that owns the Jazz and, by its virtue, now a stakeholder in the Royals — in a different partnership.
“It’s just crazy how it all lines up,” Smith said.
Vonn didn’t need all that, though.
“I don’t think I let (Blitzer) finish his sentence,” she said. “I said, I’m in.”
From Vonn’s perspective, the chance to work with the Blitzer/Smith group in a state she’s called home for more than 20 years combined perfectly with her support of women’s sports and her Lindsey Vonn Foundation, which committed to empowering underserved girls with a positive and constructive atmosphere.
As part of her share, Vonn will donate 25 tickets to every Royals home match to underserved girls in the community. She’s confident that in that group, at least one future NWSL player will come through.
Maybe that match will spark them to work harder, dig in further, and achieve their goals much like Vonn did when she took a chance on her world skiing career and moved to Utah in 2001.
Just as like, she hopes to inspire a future doctor, lawyer, business woman and other professionals int he future.
But Utah is where she wanted to do it.
“I’ve always wanted to support women in sports however I can do that,” said Vonn, who is also part of the committee to bring the Olympic Winter Games back to Utah in 2034. “Obviously there was an opportunity to invest with LAFC and I loved being a part of that. But this is my community, and also partnering with my foundation, I’m grateful to be able to empower the youth and the community. I think that is a really unique opportunity that I feel lucky to be able to be a part of. It’s definitely the best of both worlds.
“This is my home. I feel like it, and the chance to empower women, empower the foundation, and work alongside these guys and the amazing women that are leading this organization is an honor.”
The Royals’ return isn’t just about investing in women’s soccer, though that is certainly a big part of the community partnership led by Smith and Blitzer. Most women’s soccer franchises don’t turn a massive profit — certainly not the extent of an equivalent NFL or NBA franchise, at least.
But the Smith/Blitzer/Vonn group don’t just want to empower female soccer players. They hired Amy Rodriguez as the club’s first coach, Michelle Hyncik as team president, Kelly Cousins as sporting director and dozens of women in roles in sales, community relations, digital media, public relations and equipment staffing.
For Utah Royals FC, empowering women doesn’t just mean those that suit up for 90 minutes every Saturday afternoon, like they did Saturday in a 2-0 season-opening loss to the Chicago Red Stars.
“If you look at Utah, if you’re looking at women’s sports and it’s doing right now and having a moment, then Utah should play a big role in that,” Smith said. “I think that’s what we’re excited about with Lindsey joining our group. We’re just all playing a role in trying to give something to the community because that’s truly what this is. Make no mistake about it: this is something for our community.”
The NWSL is growing by leaps and bounds, up over 80% in viewership from a year ago and ticket sales up nearly 50%. A new media deal that includes games broadcast on
“There’s so much excitement within the league for this season, having two expansion teams in great markets, as well as what happened earlier today with an amazing game in Kansas City at the first stadium purpose-built for women’s sports,” Blitzer said. “It’s an amazing game, so let’s just keep driving forward showing off these amazing talents.”