The family’s decision to sell the Jazz came as a shock to many. Their choice to get back into major league sports may be less surprising.
In 2020, the Miller family sold what some thought it’d never sell—the Jazz— for a reported $1.66 billion, and the next year their car dealerships also for more than $3 billion, looking for business opportunities elsewhere. They sensed a vulnerability in those endeavors and sought to diversify the company into a broader base of ventures, including the major acquisition and development of real estate, diving into such projects as Downtown Daybreak, healthcare, and now the Power District and are in the throes of working to own and operate a Major League Baseball team right here in Salt Lake City.
Baseball, the Major League variety, is in a lot of Utahns’ hearts these days, eager as fans are to discover if Salt Lake will be picked for expansion, as one of a select handful of cities under serious consideration. MLB expansion hasn’t happened for a quarter of a century, and in that time, Utah’s capital city has grown up and out and all about. At the center of those possibilities are the Millers, former owners of the Utah Jazz, and the familial and financial engine powering a bid for inclusion at the top level of the national pastime.
The late Larry H. Miller was an avid softball player. His family says his love of the diamond has played a role in their decision to pursue a Major League Baseball franchise in Salt Lake City.
Read the full story by Gordon Monson at sltrib.com.
