Professional sports teams are moving to smaller cities in search of financial incentives, newer arenas and stadiums, and more devoted fans.
Teams are moving to smaller cities in search of financial incentives, newer arenas and stadiums and more devoted fans.
In early April, the NHL approved the $1.2 billion sale of the Arizona Coyotes to tech billionaire Ryan Smith and his wife, Ashley. The team, which will be renamed, will begin play next season in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, home of one of the Smiths’ other teams, the Utah Jazz of the NBA. People walk on the ice after a press conference announcing a new National Hockey League team owned by Smith Entertainment Group at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 19, 2024.
But in Salt Lake City, enthusiasm for the new team has been strong. Fans have paid deposits for more than 30,000 tickets in an arena that seats about half that number. Sixty-four percent of those who signed up had not attended a Utah Jazz game in the past three years, Smith said. While the Coyotes were overshadowed by the NFL, NBA and MLB teams in Phoenix, the new hockey team was already standing out in Salt Lake City, where it would compete for attention with the Jazz and two soccer teams.
The broadcast media landscape is also changing. When the NHL relied on broadcasters to show its games nationally over the air, networks wanted to reach the country’s largest markets so they could charge more for advertising. Similarly, cable networks like ESPN seek markets with the most cable subscribers.
The NHL has not ruled out returning to Phoenix. Bettman spent decades trying to keep a team there, and the league believes a Phoenix franchise could still succeed with the right owner and arena.
National Hockey League Utah Hockey Downsizing Small Market
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