Owners of NBA's Jazz request NHL initiate formal expansion process to bring team to Utah

The owners of the NBA's Utah Jazz have requested the NHL initiate an expansion process to bring a franchise to Utah.

Smith Entertainment Group, which also owns Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake, says it has made clear to the NHL its immediate ability to welcome a franchise with Salt Lake City's Delta Center serving as an interim home arena.

SEG says Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith have been in discussions with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman since early 2022 about the prospects of bringing a team to Utah.

The NHL called Utah a promising market and said it looked forward to continuing discussions in a statement released after SEG's formal request.

If approved, SEG says the hockey team would either play at Delta Center, also home of the Jazz, on a temporary basis or begin play in the next several years upon completion of a new arena. Ryan Smith says Utah will need an arena designed for professional and Olympic hockey.

League expansion must be approved by the NHL's board of governors.