The Utah Jazz were knocked out of the first round last week, and with that comes plenty of questions for the offseason and no meaningful basketball games for months. Elsewhere in the Utah sports landscape, spring football is officially over at the college level.
So without football or basketball to enjoy either in person or on TV, what is a Utah sports fan to do with all their free time? Plenty, as it turns out.
Here are 10 sporting events Utahns can attend this summer to satiate their pangs for competition.
1. Ironman World Championship
(Greater Zion Convention & Tourism Office) Swimmers hit the water in Sand Hollow Reservoir at the start of the 2018 Ironman 70.3 St. George triathlon on May 5, 2018. Within 13 months, St. George will host two 70.3 World Championships and the first full-distance Ironman World Championship held outside of Hawaii.
One of the most grueling athletic competitions in the world, this triathlon features the fastest athletes from Ironman qualifying races held around the globe each year. This year’s event is a makeup for the 2021 event that was postponed to do COVID-19.
The competition is usually held in Hawaii. The 2022 iteration will mark the first time in the event’s history that it doesn’t take place there.
Date: Saturday
Location: 50 S. Main Street, Saint George, 84770
Time: All day
Price: Free
2. Monster Energy Supercross
The AMA Finals of one of the most extreme of extreme sports is coming to Salt Lake City this weekend. The event will feature 250 and 450 bikes. In the 450 category, eight of the top 10 riders on the leaderboard are from the United States, and the same is true of the 250 category.
General parking is available on the University of Utah campus. Bags, purses and backpacks are not allowed in the stadium, per the event website.
Date: Saturday
Location: Rice-Eccles Stadium, 451 1400 E, SLC
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Price: $25-$130+. Tickets available via ticketmaster.com
3. USA Wrestling Western Regional Championships
Young wrestlers from under 8 all the way to seniors in high school will compete in a two-day competition that serves as the qualifier for the 2022 US Marine Corps Junior National Championships. Boys and girls will compete in both Freestyle and Greco-Roman style.
Date: May 13-14
Location: Legacy Events Center, 151 S 1100 W, Farmington.
Time: 9 a.m. both days
Price: $10 for one day, $15 for two days.
4. International Federation of Sport Climbing World Cup
Fans of bouldering and speed climbing will have a few opportunities to see the best of the best compete in late May at the IFOC Climbing World Cup. Speed and Bouldering have two separate weekend events, while Paraclimbing will take place at a different venue in between.
Date: Speed and Bouldering, May 20-22 and May 27-29; Paraclimbing, May 22-24
Location: Speed and Bouldering, Pioneer Park, 350 S 300 W, Salt Lake City; Paraclimbing, The Front Climbing Club, 1470 400 W, SLC.
Time: Various. See schedule for details.
Price: $5-$52. Tickets available through eventbrite.com.
5. Ogden Raptors home-opener
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Spectators take in the game and views of the Wasatch Range as the sun sets on a Raptors baseball game at Lindquist Field in Ogden on Wed. July 25, 2018.
The Salt Lake Bees aren’t the only baseball team in town. And after Pioneer League was dissolved and the team was left to its own devices, the Raptors — still partnered with Major League Baseball — are set to begin their new era.
Date: May 25
Location: Lindquist Field, 2330 Lincoln Ave, Ogden
Time: 7 p.m.
Price: Various. Tickets available at tickets.ogdenraptors.com or by calling (801) 393-2450.
6. LIGA MX Soccer: Santos Laguna vs. Chivas
LIGA MX action is back at Rio Tinto Stadium, home of Real Salt Lake, with a friendly between Chivas and Santos Laguna. The organization felt confident bringing Mexican soccer back to Utah after a similar event last summer that brought more than 19,000 fans to the RioT to see Santos Laguna and Club América.
“It was fantastic to see the day-long celebration that coincided with last year’s events,” RSL President John Kimball told The Salt Lake Tribune. “And now, bringing Chivas ... we are expecting that and even more.”
Events will start at 3 p.m. with a Fan Fest at the east side of the stadium that will feature music, food, a championship trophy and an autograph session with “a former Chivas legend,” per RSL.
Date: June 15
Location: Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S, State St, Sandy
Time: 7 p.m.
Price: $40-$150. Tickets on sale Wednesday through axs.com and ticketon.com.
7. U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team vs. Colombia
(AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File) In this July 7, 2019, file photo, United States' Megan Rapinoe celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the Women's World Cup final soccer match against The Netherlands at the Stade de Lyon in Decines, outside Lyon, France. The U.S. women's national team will be at Rio Tinto Stadium this summer.
Fans of women’s international soccer will have the opportunity to see the likes of Rose Lavelle, Kelley O’Hara, Ashley Hatch and others face off against Colombia. The USWNT won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019, and are looking to qualify for 2023 and the 2024 Olympics.
The USWNT were scheduled to play Australia in 2020, but that game was canceled due to the pandemic. June’s game will be the first time since 2018 that the women’s team visits Utah.
Date: June 28
Location: Rio Tinto Stadium, 9256 S, State St, Sandy
Time: 8 p.m.
Price: $22-$247. Tickets available via axs.com.
8. Salt Lake City NBA Summer League
NBA fans wanting their fix for high-level basketball don’t have to go far to get it. The NBA Summer League schedule will once again make a stop in downtown Salt Lake City at the home of the Utah Jazz. Teams participating in the 2022 event will be the Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder and Philadelphia 76ers.
Date: July 5-7
Location: Vivint Arena, 301 S Temple, SLC
Time: TBA
Price: TBA. Tickets go on sale in May and will be available in single-day and three-day passes, per the Jazz.
9. Fiesta Days Rodeo
For those looking for something a little different in a sporting event, a weeklong rodeo event with 80 years of tradition is coming to Spanish Fork. PRCA Xtreme Bulls returns for a fourth straight year, and spectators can also view traditional rodeo events such as bull riding, bareback riding, steer wrestling and more.
Date: July 20-23 and 25
Location: Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, 475 S Main, Spanish Fork
Time: 7 p.m.
Price: Various. Tickets available at sfcitytix.com.
10. Tony Hawk Vert Alert
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Skate legend Tony Hawk delights the crowd as he drops in for a round of tricks along with other pro skaters gathered for a community skate and first look of the new Vans - Utah Sports Commission Skatepark at the Utah State Fairpark on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2019.
The legend of skateboarding and other stalwarts of the sport will be back in Salt Lake City in the late summer. Last year’s event, the first of its kind, was named the 2021 Event of the Year by the Utah Sports Commission. Tony Hawk said last month that he wants to make his event an international series.
Date: Aug. 27-28
Location: Utah State Fairpark, 155 1000 W, SLC
Time: Aug. 27, 5 p.m.; Aug. 28, 10 a.m.
Price: Free
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