“Utah has the ingredients for an MLB team, including a ready market, a proven and focused ownership group, a shovel-ready site at the Power District, and a bi-partisan coalition.”
– Gov. Spencer Cox

Big League Utah, the broad-based coalition united to position Salt Lake City, Utah as a Major League Baseball (MLB) expansion market, announced the creation of honorary and community advisory boards. Board members’ expertise and commitment to Utah’s success will help advance the multi-faceted campaign and focused efforts. 

The honorary advisory board is comprised of Gail Miller, co-founder and owner of the Larry H. Miller Company, and local elected leaders, including Governor Spencer J. Cox; Senate President J. Stuart Adams; House Speaker Mike Schultz; Utah State Senator Luz Escamilla; Utah State Senator Lincoln Fillmore; Utah State Representative Sandra Hollins; Utah State Representative Ryan D. Wilcox; Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall; Salt Lake City Councilmember Victoria Petro; former Congressman and former Utah House Speaker Rob Bishop; Point of the Mountain State Land Authority Board Co-Chair and former member of the Utah State House of Representatives Lowry Snow.

The community advisory board includes Steve Miller, Chair, the Larry H. Miller Company; Greg Miller, Vice Chair, the Larry H. Miller Company; Steve Starks, CEO, the Larry H. Miller Company; Scott Anderson, President and CEO, Zions Bank; Dave Checketts, businessman and sports executive; Spencer P. Eccles, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, The Cynosure Group; Maria Garciaz, CEO, NeighborWorks Salt Lake; Kem Gardner, CEO, Gardner Companies; Natalie Gochnour, Executive Director, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; Gary Hoogeveen, President and CEO, Rocky Mountain Power; David Huntsman, President and COO, Huntsman Foundation; Jim Laub, President and CEO, Cache Valley Electric, Derek Miller, President and CEO, Salt Lake Chamber; Todd Pedersen, Founder, Vivint Smart Home and businessman; Thayne Shaffer, President and CEO, America First Credit Union; Dr. Sidni Shorter, President and CEO, Utah Black Chamber; and Spencer Zwick, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Solamere Capital.

“We have an exceptional ownership group, a shovel ready ballpark site, overwhelming community support in a strong growth market for MLB. We know this could be a multi-year effort, but we’re off to a great start and are encouraged that so many are seeing Salt Lake City as a major league market,” said Starks. “Like securing the return of the Winter Olympic Games, these big-vision projects don’t happen without close collaboration and teamwork—hallmarks of our community.”

The Power District is an approximately 100-acre, shovel-ready site in the heart of Salt Lake City’s west side. The site features views of the downtown skyline and pristine Wasatch Mountains. It is ideally located between the Salt Lake International Airport and downtown Salt Lake City and is bordered by Interstate-80 and light rail, as well as the Utah State Fairpark and Jordan River. Big League Utah announced its intention to position Salt Lake City, Utah as an MLB expansion market in April 2023. 

“Our family knows the impact that sports can have on communities,” said Steve Miller. “We are particularly excited about the impact a Major League Baseball team could have on Salt Lake City’s west side. The Power District is perfectly located as a connector between people, businesses and sports in our capital city. The potential and responsibility to be a catalyst in this community belongs to all of us.”

To support these efforts and if successful in securing an MLB team, Big League Utah also announced its intention to create a team foundation to benefit west side community priorities.

“Our mission is to enrich lives and create lasting impact,” said Gail Miller. “Larry and I graduated from West High School, and I have deep affection for our friends and neighbors in this community. If we are successful in securing an expansion team, we will use this platform to support organizations and initiatives focused on the west side, its families and local businesses.

“We are grateful that Big League Utah is engaged with our community. We are eager to share our thoughts and experiences, and most of all, we are ready for Major League Baseball,” said Sen. Escamilla.

Statements from Big League Utah’s Advisory Board Members

“Utah has the ingredients for an MLB team, including a ready market, a proven and focused ownership group, a shovel-ready site at the Power District, and a bi-partisan coalition. Third-party data proves Salt Lake City and the Beehive State can absolutely support a new professional sports team.” – Utah Governor Spencer J. Cox.

“Like our pursuit of the Olympic Games, we are united in our efforts behind Big League Utah and our pursuit of an MLB expansion team. We have amazing community support and the perfect site for a stadium on Salt Lake’s west side.” – Utah State Senate President J. Stuart Adams.

“I am encouraged to have a vibrant mixed-use development in such close proximity to the Utah State Fairpark. The dedicated activation and programming of a sports and entertainment-anchored project will elevate and complement the mission and objectives of the Fairpark.” – Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz.

“Salt Lake City is on board to host a Major League Baseball team. We have a robust history of supporting professional athletics and look forward to strengthening the anchor of sports in the capital city. With this proposal, you could walk out the front doors of the airport, class at the University of Utah, or dinner on Main Street, hop on a TRAX train and be to the front doors of a future stadium within minutes.” – Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.

“Utah’s business community is poised to support an MLB franchise right here in Salt Lake City. Our data points to corporate enthusiasm for partnerships and season ticket purchases. A stadium, coupled with deliberate and visionary mixed-use development, will serve as an economic engine for our west side community.” – Derek Miller, President and CEO, the Salt Lake Chamber.

“We love our west side community and are eager to partner with Big League Utah and the Miller organization to envision the catalytic opportunities on our horizon.” – Maria Garciaz, CEO, NeighborWorks Salt Lake. 

“Utah is a mid-sized, high-amenity state. Our strong economy and young demographics, combined with the state’s ability to host large sporting events, like the Olympics, make us a perfect market for an MLB team. More importantly, our capital city is the essential home for professional sports, especially America’s favorite pastime.” – Natalie Gochnour, Executive Director, Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute

“When I think of baseball, I think of the Miller family. Their decades-long stewardship of professional sports teams in our capital city is unparalleled. The family’s deep roots and statewide community support are indicative of their vision for the engagement and operations of an MLB franchise.” – Scott Anderson, President and CEO, Zions Bank.

About Big League Utah
Big League Utah is a broad-based community coalition led by the Miller family and the Larry H. Miller Company. It consists of Utah’s federal, state, and local decision-makers, business and community leaders, former MLB players, and potential investors. Coalition members are united behind the effort to welcome an MLB team to Salt Lake City.

About the Larry H. Miller Company
The Miller family has a deep history of sports ownership in Utah, beginning with the purchase of the Utah Jazz in 1985. During their ownership of the Jazz, the team made 20 consecutive playoff appearances, went to two NBA finals, and had the 3rd highest winning percentage in the NBA. The Miller family also constructed the Delta Center and then led the award-winning renovation of the arena in 2017, hosted the 1993 NBA All-Star Game, and secured its return in 2023. In 2005, the Miller family followed their life-long love of baseball by purchasing the Salt Lake Bees. In 2023, they announced the construction of a new ballpark for the Bees in Downtown Daybreak in South Jordan, Utah, and announced their intent to lead the effort of securing an MLB expansion franchise. For more information, visit www.lhm.com. 

“We have a generational opportunity to invest in the west side and to connect our city in a positive way.”
– Steve Starks

In a recent article from the Salt Lake Tribune, Gordon Monson gave an update on Big League Utah’s efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Salt Lake City. 

Monson writes that Big League Utah – spearheaded by the Larry H. Miller Company and the Miller family – conducted a statewide market survey gauging community interest in bringing MLB to SLC. The results were overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of community members supporting an MLB team making its home in the Beehive state. On the heels of those findings, new renderings of the ballpark and its surrounding development are soon to be released. 

The proposed development is expected to boost Salt Lake City’s economy, social connection and sense of community. In addition to the MLB stadium, the planned development will include retail, restaurants, entertainment, housing, and more. 

Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company and head of the Big League Utah Coalition, said, “We have a generational opportunity to invest in the west side and to connect our city in a positive way. It wouldn’t solve every problem, but if our community can imagine it, can lean into it, if it rallies, it will see what’s possible in that space in the Power District.”

The Miller family, who has decades of experience owning and managing professional sports teams in Utah, is integral to making this happen, and they are passionate about bringing an MLB team to Salt Lake City. Their involvement in the project is seen as a significant factor in the awarding of an expansion team. In addition, the coalition is confident in the strength of the market, Utah’s population growth, the state of the local economy, and the support of government leaders and residents.

If Salt Lake City is selected as an expansion location by MLB, Monson hints at its potential to become a catalyst to the community, much like other professional sports teams in the state and the upcoming 2034 Olympic Games.

Read the full article by Gordon Monson on SLTrib.com

KSL’s Carter Williams details the recently launched Big League Utah stadium survey.

SALT LAKE CITY — The coalition behind Utah’s attempt to bring in a Major League Baseball team launched a new online survey Tuesday, seeking more feedback on what a possible new stadium should look like if it does land a team in the near future.

The public survey seeks to collect “insights, preferences and feedback” regarding a potential team and stadium, according to Big League Utah, a coalition of prominent Utahns backing an effort for a team. It asks Utahns about their thoughts on the major leagues and about various aspects of a future team, including stadium design, seating, ticket packages, amenities and anything else that a future stadium could offer.

All of the questions about seating and pricing is hypothetical, organization officials explain. Any information gathered from the online survey, which remains open through Sept. 4, will be added to an economic feasibility study that the coalition is currently working on.

“Feedback from the community is vital to our efforts,” said Amanda Covington, spokeswoman for Big League Utah, in a statement. “We are excited to hear the community’s thoughts on bringing an MLB team to Utah.”

Big League Utah publicly launched its campaign to bring in a major league expansion team in April, announcing that they have a “preferred shovel-ready site” for a new stadium in Salt Lake City’s new Power District. If built in that spot, it would be a key feature of about 100 acres of land that Rocky Mountain Power plans to redevelop in the future.

Larry H. Miller CEO Steve Starks, who is one of the coalition’s leaders, said at the time that the group met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in New York City last year to discuss Utah as a future market as the league considers expanding from 30 to 32 teams.

The new survey follows focus group sessions that Big League Utah held last month that also sought feedback on the future construction of a possible ballpark.

The timeline for expansion is still vague, though. Manfred told reporters during the MLB’s All-Star break last month that the league is looking to form an expansion committee “pretty shortly” after the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays finalize their future stadium plans; the former is all but set to relocate to Las Vegas.

Salt Lake City is one of a few U.S. cities that have expressed interest in expansion. The list also includes Nashville, Tennessee; Portland, Oregon; and Orlando, Florida among other possible landing spots for a future MLB club.

Check out the article by Carter Williams on KSL.