A new name has emerged as a potential buyer for Real Salt Lake.
David Blitzer, co-owner of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, is interested in purchasing RSL, per a report in Sportico. Blitzer, also an investor in Crystal Palace from the English Premier League, is one of close to a dozen investors approved by Major League Soccer to pursue the team, the report says.
The report also states that Utah Jazz owner and Qualtrics founder Ryan Smith is no longer in active discussions to acquire RSL. Smith was interested last summer and even toured the organization’s soccer facilities, but hasn’t spoken to MLS in a handful of months, per the report.
MLS took over the sales process in early January. League Commissioner Don Garber has said he hopes the sale will be completed by the end of the year.
RSL declined comment on Tuesday. But interim team president John Kimball told The Salt Lake Tribune last month that there was “really positive momentum” with the ownership search. He also said there were several groups “consistently coming in and looking at the team,” and mentioned the companies interested were from all around the world.
Inner Circle Sports has been retained to sell the team, The Tribune confirmed. The company declined to comment.
Utah Soccer Holdings — which includes RSL, the Real Monarchs, Rio Tinto Stadium and the Herriman training facility — has been on sale since late August. Dell Loy Hansen decided to sell the franchise after allegations of racist behavior surfaced and he was tied to perpetuating a toxic workplace culture.
Follow @AlexVReporting