Ryan Smith recently toured Real Madrid’s practice facility. As the owner of the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Utah Mammoth of the NHL, Smith took note of the beauty of the building. But, what really struck him was the beauty of the walls. That’s where all the championship banners hang. And it’s something he wants for his two teams.
In the five years since Smith bought the majority of the Jazz and the three years since he became the stakeholder of the Mammoth, most of the business moves he’s made, on or off the court and on or off the ice, have been with that in mind — to bring a second major sporting title to Salt Lake City.
On Tuesday morning, ground will be broken on a Utah Jazz practice facility, one that will be in the same Sandy location as the Mammoth’s. With the Jazz and Mammoth players and coaches expected to be on hand, Smith sees it as another move designed to help his franchises as both continue to build.
“I think if Salt Lake City started all over, it wouldn’t be tied to a 200,000-person downtown,” Smith told The Athletic. “I think Salt Lake is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and this is a way to extend our footprint accross the entire valley.”
What will make the practice facility rare for the Jazz and Mammoth will be the fact they will be among the few franchises with their hockey and NBA teams having their respective facilities in the same place. The New York Rangers and New York Knicks are a good example for this. One of the things Smith envisions with the facility being in Sandy is players being able to take in the entire experience of the valley.
Utah’s facility is currently located on the edge of Salt Lake. And that means, typically, Jazz players who were drafted or traded to Utah, or who came to Utah, have lived downtown or close to that footprint. What Smith pictures with the new facility are the players, both Jazz and Mammoth, spreading out across the valley footprint, and experiencing more of what Utah itself has to offer.
“I think it’s just relieving a little bit of the pressure of downtown,” Smith said. “There is space to create a different experience. One thing I like about the facility is that we are truly building a campus. It will be 100,000 square feet for the offices and for the studios and the business side and the content. I think right now there is so much pressure on the young athletes, and a lot of the guys have the same routine. We want to make it so that it doesn’t matter where they live, they are living close to the workplace.”
The Jazz selected Ace Bailey with the fifth pick in this year’s draft. “We just have to hit on these picks and keep stacking good decisions,” owner Ryan Smith said. (Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
The details of the new facility, like square footage, are still being worked on. But, these are some of the key points. Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) is designing the facility with input from the Jazz coaches, the front office and the players. SEG will also house its business offices on the site, adjacent to where both teams will practice.
One thing Smith has been proud of has been the interaction between the Jazz and Mammoth, who have just begun their second season in Utah. Jazz point guard Isaiah Collier recently went to a Mammoth game, and that was the first hockey game he attended. Newly acquired center Jusuf Nurkić has been to a number of Mammoth games, and Jazz star Lauri Markkanen is by all accounts a hockey fanatic.
“There aren’t many cities who have two teams that are co-existing in the arena standpoint and with the practice facility,” Smith said. “It’s very rare to have the same ownership group to have both together. When I toured Real Madrid, it was incredible. The first key is how do you put it together and create the space. The bottom floor will be hockey. The top floor will be hoops. We are going to have a lot of staff to support the teams.”
Of course, the challenge, especially for the Jazz, is actually to field a title-level team. Everyone knows the John Stockton and Karl Malone teams of the 1990s were great. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer had a Western Conference finals run in 2007. Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert’s teams, especially in 2021, were terrific, but were also thwarted.
How does a new practice facility, a renovated arena and synergy with the Mammoth translate into titles? That’s the question. The obvious answer is Smith and the front office hope comfort and family atmosphere will translate on the court. And the Jazz have consistently tried to make a push in free agency and through the draft, which is where the front office hopes to make inroads next summer.
But as the Jazz begin their regular season Wednesday night against the LA Clippers, one team will still be in a rebuild and the other will have designs on trying to win a championship this season. Smith knows that. But, as he brought in Austin Ainge to head basketball operations, he also knows that he has a front office that he can trust.
“I think Austin is a star. I think Will (Hardy) is a star,” Smith said. “I think we have one of the most exciting front offices in the league. We have a lot of picks and a lot of flexibility. The picks aren’t coming fast enough for me, but I know this is the NBA. You have to grow the talent. We have brought in a lot of people who have a lot of rings. So, the ultimate goal is to win titles. That’s what matters. I understand that’s also the goal of every other team, so it’s really difficult and winning happens rarely. We just have to hit on these picks and keep stacking good decisions. It’s good to have Taylor (Hendricks) back. Walker (Kessler) is coming along. We just have to grow the guys.”
