- Utah Royals bounce back for the first time since 2020 demise
- Smith Entertainment Group part of new ownership structure
National Women’s Soccer League has announced that Utah Royals have returned to the NWSL for the 2024 season.
After the December 7 2020 announcement of the Royals’ demise, efforts have been afoot to bring back the club.
“From the moment that happened, I feel like every day I’ve woken up trying to get them back,” new Utah Royals president Michelle Hyncik told The Equalizer this week.
A completely new ownership will be in place for the club as Real Salt Lakes owners Ryan Smith and David Blitzer will be part of the new structure.
Blitzer said, “When we acquired Real Salt Lake last year, we said it was a matter of when, not if, the NWSL would return to Utah. This has always been an integral part of our mission and a top priority. With today’s announcement, we are thrilled to fulfill our promise we made to our incredible fan base” promising to use their “resources and platform” to grow the game.
NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman told The Equalizer, “From our perspective, any time we are talking about bringing in teams to a new market, you always want as much data and confidence that the team is going to be successful.”
“In this circumstance, we have really undeniable evidence that this team is wanted by this community, both from the perspective of the raw data on attendance, but also, we know anecdotally that when RSL [was purchased], the most-asked question from the community was, ‘When are the Royals coming back?’”
