Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement - scroll for more content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
This might be the smoothest 30 points through 2.5 quarters I’ve ever seen. Lauri Markkanen is definitely an all star.
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) January 4, 2026
Ryan Smith, who was taking on a Herculean task of relocating the team to Salt Lake in a matter of months, asked players and staff what they needed. The response included everything from better travel and nutrition to, yes, a facility for training. He shakes his head at how far they’ve come. “We didn’t get into sports to be like, ‘Hey, we want to conquer the world,’” Smith tells The Athletic. “It was very much community-based. We really had to keep asking, ‘What are we doing?’ In a world that’s completely divided, (sports) bring everyone together. That’s our ‘why’ and what keeps us going.”
Ryan and Ashley Smith’s company, Smith Entertainment Group, is gutting the 34-year-old Delta Center to make it more fan-friendly for both basketball and hockey. Plans are underway for a $3 billion-plus downtown overhaul by the arena, connecting the sports teams to the cultural and convention centers, with construction expected to be mostly complete before the 2034 Olympics. The Mammoth already boast a season-ticket base of 10,000 full-season equivalents for what will be a 12,266-seat capacity this season and around 17,000 after the upper bowl is renovated by the start of the 2027-28 season. They did not disclose the breakdown of this year’s season-ticket equivalents, but last year, they capped full-season packages at 8,000 and also sold partial-season packages that added up to another 2,500 full seasons.
Smith’s summer project was a pledge to help build up to 20 local rinks, offering $500,000 each to get them started. According to SEG, five municipalities are now in different stages of development. Smith wants the Junior Mammoth program to mirror the Junior Jazz, which according to SEG is the largest youth basketball organization in the NBA with 70,000 participants. The goal is to be a picture of stability as an NHL organization. And to win the Stanley Cup — multiple times. No, Smith isn’t intending to build an “empire” here in Salt Lake. It just feels that way.
But mostly, Smith says, “This is a movement.” He sees a greater purpose for it: to elevate his home state. “I don’t think we’ve thought much about, ‘Hey, this is the legacy. This is the empire,’” Smith says. “Nobody is going to remember Ryan Smith 100 years from now. This isn’t my legacy. It’s really not about the Smith family. We’re pretty normal people, trying to raise kids, and we all share a common theme. “It’s Utah.”
Advertisement
NBA Communications: NBA COMMISSIONER ADAM SILVER'S STATEMENT REGARDING THE PASSING OF CAROLINE KLEIN NEW YORK, Aug. 22, 2025-NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued the following statement today regarding the passing of Smith Entertainment Group Chief Communications Officer Caroline Klein: "The NBA family mourns the passing of our colleague and friend, Caroline Klein. Caroline was a leader within the Utah Jazz, Smith Entertainment Group, and across the league. Her passion, determination, and generosity left a lasting impact on everyone she met, and she played a pivotal role in making the 2023 NBA All-Star Game in Utah an unforgettable celebration of the Jazz organization and the Salt Lake City community. Even after her diagnosis, Caroline remained dedicated to supporting her colleagues and embraced every opportunity with courage and grace. She will always be remembered for the example she set and the lives she touched. "We extend our deepest condolences to her husband, Mike; her family and friends; Ryan and Ashley Smith; and her many colleagues at the Jazz and Utah Mammoth."
Smith Entertainment Group is partnering with music entertainment company Live Nation to build a new indoor music venue in downtown Salt Lake City. The roughly 6,000-capacity venue is the first major piece of SEG’s downtown sports and entertainment district to be revealed. The venue aims to host 200 events yearly, including 100 concerts. It will also host a range of corporate, conference and community events.
Ryan Smith: I mean, I think we brought in Austin (Ainge) a couple of weeks ago. He came out for the press conference from Boston and didn’t leave—he has not gone back home to pack up or anything. He has been heads down. A couple of weeks ago he said, 'If we can walk out of this draft with Ace Bailey and Walter Clayton, that’s exactly what we want to do.' And the team executed on exactly what they wanted."
“When I said this before the deal was signed—that this is ridiculous and it's going to hurt players in the end—no one wanted to listen. Everybody wanted to act like the PA was making a great deal. The PA made a bullsh*t deal, as the PA has done for years now. Every year the pot gets bigger, the business gets better, and the players get screwed more. That's just how this business works.”
Andy Larsen: Finally, Ryan Smith was asked about Justin Zanik's role with the Jazz: "Justin's the GM in the organization. His role hasn't changed at all. If you think about the skill set that Austin has, and JZ's skill set, they actually work really well."
Advertisement
Andy Larsen: Smith, on why Austin Ainge was the guy: "Really it came to a conversation with me and Ashley and some of the folks in our group — who would you go get? What would you do? And I kept coming back to Austin. The challenge was, I had no clue how Austin felt."
Sarah Todd: Ryan Smith says that Austin Ainge will have final say and will give recommendations to Smith. So, that's a lot more clear than the last time the Jazz hired an Ainge
Now he’s bringing that experience to the NBA. Not since Mark Cuban bought the Dallas Mavericks in 2000 has an NBA owner been so poised for disruption. “I don’t let anyone else determine what our success looks like,” Smith insists. “I’m new to this, so I’m going to see it a little different.” But unlike the bomb-throwing Cuban, as Cuban himself points out, Smith has spent nearly two decades running a company. He will disrupt, but from the inside out.
Now he’s determined to create an NBA franchise in sync with all this growth. “Utah,” he pronounces, “should be one of the most lucrative places to play.” The Jazz have the second-best record in the league over the past 25 seasons, but they haven’t won a title. Nationally, the area is still perceived as a backwater by many. Smith is convinced that if he can make Utah a more appealing place not just to be a player but a wife, a sponsor, a fan, and a Jazz employee, his team can’t help but prosper. “You can’t make everybody happy all the time,” he says, “but you can have a plan for each. My punch list is long.”