Ownership of Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC transferred to Miller family, LHM Sports
RSL is up for sale for the second time in three years, with local sports and business magnate Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment purchasing a majority stake in the club from David Blitzer.
SANDY, Utah — Three years after inaugurating a new era at Real Salt Lake under joint ownership between NBA owners David Blitzer and Ryan Smith, Utah’s three-team pro soccer pyramid is turning over again.
RSL, Utah Royals FC and Real Monarchs — the three teams that make up Utah Soccer, LLC along with the Zions Bank Real Academy training facility in Herriman — announced the sell of a controlling interest to the Miller Family and Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment.
Each party will be available at a special media event Friday morning at America First Field, which will also include remarks from MLS Commissioner Don Garber, NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox,
As part of the ownership change, Blitzer will retain a minority stake in the franchise, keeping the RSL organization within the world Global Football Holdings network that also includes stakes in Premier League side Crystal Palace, Danish club Brondby IF, and Belgium’s S.K. Beveren, among others.
But the organization known as LHMSE in shorthand, which is led by chairman Steve Miller and CEO Steve Sarks that once owned an 80% ownership stake in the NBA’s Utah Jazz, will be the primary stakeholder in Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals.
Blitzer will take the minority ownership stake once held by Ryan Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Jazz and the NHL’s Utah Hockey Club, team sources confirmed to Salt City FC.
The Miller group sold the Jazz to Smith and his investment team five years ago for a reported $1.66 billion. A small portion of the NBA team was placed into a legacy trust in the Miller family’s name, but only enough to ensure the team would remain in Utah “for generations to come.”
ESPN reported in March that the Miller group, which also owns the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees and newly inaugurated Ballpark at American First Square in Daybreak, was interested in purchasing RSL three years ago when Blitzer acquired the franchise from Dell Loy Hansen following the previous owner’s repeated allegatiosn of racist and sexist behavior chronicled by The Athletic and other media outlets.
At the time, Blitzer reportedly purchases RSL, then-Rio Tinto Stadium, and the team’s training facility and MLS NEXT Pro team for $400 million, along with the rights for an NWSL expansion club to revive the Utah Royals for a discounted fee.
Terms of the deal were not immediately released. But Sportico’s initial story detailing the sale estimated RSL’s valuation close to $525 million, with the Royals valued at approximately $70 million.
Blitzer initially purchased the club for around $400 million, according to several reports.
Watch the complete announcement via live stream in the video below, or on YouTube. We’ll have more from RSL’s new ownership group following the press conference, scheduling to begin at 10:30 a.m. MT.
