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Photos courtesy of RSL Football Holdings
Utah Royals FC and Real Salt Lake announced Friday that majority ownership of RSL Football Holdings has been acquired by the Miller family and Miller Sports & Entertainment, with David Blitzer staying on as the second-largest shareholder.
The terms of the sale were not made public but The Athletic reported that the sale totaled around $600 million. The purchase includes MLS side Real Salt Lake, NWSL’s Utah Royals FC, the Real Monarchs of MLS NEXT Pro and the RSL Academy. It also includes real estate assets in the form of America First Field, Zions Bank Stadium and Zions Bank Training Center.
“We are honored to join the Real Salt Lake Club and invest in the highest levels of men’s and women’s soccer in both RSL and the Royals,” said Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company in a statement. “We are grateful for David Blitzer’s trust, and I am confident our combined experience in sports leadership will elevate soccer within Utah and support the Club’s goal of winning championships. We are proud to join the ‘RioT’ and an incredibly passionate fanbase.”
The clubs were initially sold to Blitzer, Ryan Smith and Arctos Partners, a private equity platform, in January 2022 after racist behaviors of then-owner Dell Loy Hansen were reported by The Athletic in 2020.
Blitzer, who is staying on as a minority owner, is involved in ownership groups across numerous leagues like the NBA, NFL, NHL and professional soccer clubs throughout Europe. But he is not local. This was part of the impetus to sell as they felt that “the control owner of a franchise should really be local and immensely embedded in their community,” Blitzer told The Athletic.
The Millers are well known in Utah as the 35-year owners and stewards of the NBA’s Utah Jazz before selling the franchise in October 2020. They are “pioneers of professional sports and entertainment in Utah and have a legacy of commitment to the community that spans more than four decades,” according to the clubs’ official release.
The hope is that the combination of local ownership with Blitzer’s global sports leadership will form a powerful partnership.
“The Millers have a long-standing commitment to community, youth sports, and sound business operations, and we have a proven history with David, one of the most accomplished sports owners in the world,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “Together, this group is perfectly positioned to strengthen the club and grow soccer in Utah and the region.”
Steve Miller, Chairman of the Larry H. Miller Company Board of Directors, will serve as Chairman and Governor for the Utah Royals FC, with Steve Starks serving as the alternate Governor.
The Utah Royals are in their second year of operation in the franchise’s second iteration. It was announced in December 2020 that the Royals, then an expansion franchise under Hansen, would be folding. At the time, a buy-back clause was included in the termination of the Royals franchise for future prospective owners to trigger. The return of the Royals to the NWSL, led by Blitzer and Smith, was announced in March 2023 and the club began play in 2024.
NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman, alongside Garber and the governor of Utah Spencer Cox, was in Sandy Friday to welcome the new owners to the league.
“This powerful partnership between the Miller family and David Blitzer will elevate women’s soccer in Utah and continue to build fandom for the Royals FC,” Berman said in a press release. “Miller Sports + Entertainment has consistently demonstrated commitment to building sport and community both on and off the pitch- aligning with our values at the NWSL – and we welcome this new ownership group to the league.”
