Utah
Utah’s sports surge: What the state’s big plans could mean for future generations
SALT LAKE CITY – “Opportunity” – it’s a word we’ve been hearing a lot recently as Utah lures professional sports teams and hopes to host another Olympics.
To accommodate those dreams, a sports and entertainment district will soon transform downtown Salt Lake City. And training facilities could reshape other communities across the state. Taxpayers will help foot the bill for the downtown transformation, to the tune of nearly a billion dollars over 30 years.
And lawmakers paved the way for a similar deal for an MLB stadium.
The long-term investment has many excited for Utah’s sports surge, including Shannon Bahrke, a two-time Olympic medalist who made Utah her home after the 2002 games.
“I mean, there’s so many reasons that I clap for that,” Bahrke said of the growth in sports. “But I think for me it’s all about the kids,” she said. Bahrke is looking to the future and opportunities for her own children.
“Oh my gosh, we just got the Royals, a women’s professional soccer team,” she said, cheering out loud with excitement. “Like my daughter can know what’s possible.”
Orson Colby has already benefited from access to training facilities close to home, a result of Utah’s first Olympic spotlight.
17-year-old Orson Colby sits on the porch of his home in Riverton, Utah surrounded by competition photos. Colby is a youth national champion in luge. (Ken Fall, KSL TV)
“I’m very grateful,” said the national youth luge champion from Riverton.
“They always say it takes 10,000 hours to get good at something,” he said. “People from the East Coast would only go for a two-week camp to train [in Lake Placid]… versus where I’m only like a 40-minute drive to Park City. And I think that’s been like a lot more help for my growth.”
The State of Sport
Jeff Robbins, President of the Utah Sports Commission, says the surge is not an overnight phenomenon.
“All the great things that you’re seeing take place right now are an effort that took place for over 20 years,” he said – efforts which began on the heels of the 2002 Winter Games.
The commission was created to attract sporting events of all kinds to our state.
Their favorite slogan: “The State of Sport.”
And that vision goes beyond NHL, NBA, Major League Soccer, or the Olympics. His office promotes a diversity of sports.
“We’ve got the premier lacrosse league that a lot of people don’t know about,” Robbins said.
And 45 cities across the state have hosted major events, including the Ironman in St. George, Red Bull Rampage in Virgin, AMA Supercross, Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert, and now the Black Diamonds of Major League Pickleball.
Mike Headrick spoke with Jeff Robbins, the president & CEO of the Utah Sports Commission, which was created to attract sporting events to the state. (Ken Fall, KSL TV)
“Almost 1,100 hundred events that we’ve partnered on since. About $4 billion in economic impact, and probably not far off $4 billion in global media value,” he said.
And Robbins wants folks to remember what arrived in June 1979.
“The Jazz. And I don’t think anybody would argue that hasn’t been incredibly good for Utah,” he said.
Olympic legacy
“Every one of our venues is in incredibly high use today. And most of it’s with our kids,” said Fraser Bullock, President & CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games.
Bullock played a big role in the 2002 Olympics and expects another Winter Games here in the future.
He says the introduction of new sports in our state will start the pipeline of future athletes.
“We had the Youth Sports Alliance in Park City, which was born out of the games, and now we have thousands of kids who have gone through this pipeline of winter sport.”
The venues built for the 2002 games still attract world cup events and athletes from around the globe. Bullock said over 30% of the athletes who competed in the 2022 Beijing Winter Games live and train in Utah.
“When I see the NHL coming here, I’m thinking, ‘Think of all the ice sheets that are going to get built and all the kids that are going to start playing hockey.’”
Economically, he believes the benefit to the community is worth it. And he says fiscal responsibility was the keystone of a successful games in 2002.
“We did borrow a little bit at the beginning, $59 million dollars, which we paid back,” he said about the 2002 Winter Games. “We left behind a $76 million dollar endowment to fund the operation of those venues.”
That endowment was meant to last 20 years. Since that time, the state has had to step in. Over the past six years, the Utah Legislature has appropriated more than $94 million dollars to renovate and maintain the facilities. That number is expected to rise more than $140 million.
“For 2034, our objective is to leave behind a much larger endowment, so that that could fund everything – operations and maintenance – and the state wouldn’t have to put in any more money,” said Bullock.
But Bullock recognizes the big-league growth in Utah comes with big-league pressures.
“That’s why we need a comprehensive solution on housing, and more housing and transportation infrastructure to support a lot of people,” he said.
A positive for everyone?
“Just because you can grow, the question is: ‘Should you?’” asks Jason Godfrey, the CEO of Better City, an Ogden-based company which advises cities around the country on economic development, strategic planning, and growth.
Here in Utah, Better City has worked with communities from Brigham City to Tooele to Cedar City. It finished a major strategic study for the Wasatch Front Regional Council, and highlighted what it calls one of Utah’s weaknesses: reactive decision-making. According to the study, “Communities across the Region… are pushed to make decisions based on immediate or emerging circumstances, often driven by short-term considerations and goals.”
Godfrey believes Utah should get a gold medal for certain aspects of planning, like transportation, business growth and population projections.
However, “There’s a little bit of a blind spot when it comes to planning and looking at quality of life things,” he said.
Godfrey sees major concerns with cost of living, housing, and quality of life.
“Recreation, amenities, quality of life. That’s what dominates. You know, people really do want to have a good quality of life,” he said. “Is this going to be a net positive for everyone?”
Sports as a unifying force
Still, most in this widening state of sports welcome the growth and opportunity with their fingers crossed.
Bullock stressed success will be the result of a team effort, saying, “It takes not only the Ryan Smith and the Miller family, combined with the more limited corporate sponsorships we have
here, but also with the public, the Legislature, to put all the pieces together to make it work. And so, everybody in a community effort has to come together.”
“Time will tell how much return on investment we get,” said Robbins.
Bahrke, however, has no reservations.
“We can just do so much here and allowing that to flourish. I’m just so thankful,” said Bahrke. “Go Utah!” she cheered with her arms in the air.
Edwin Munk Woolley died on June 19, 2026, in a canyoneering accident in Zero Gravity canyon in the San Rafael Swell in Southern Utah. He was born October 28, 1974, in Salt Lake City, Utah to James and Jeanette Woolley. The youngest of four children, he exemplified all the best qualities of the baby in the family: funny, adaptable, sociable, and adventurous.
Growing up, he skied as soon as he could walk, excelled at Zim-Zam, roamed the Federal Heights foothills and threw snowballs at passing cars with his pack of life-long friends. Although his high school attendance record was less than stellar, he was a proud and committed member of the East High Leopard hockey team. Hockey was a huge part of his life and he cherished playing on a late-night team with some of his closest friends.
A life-long Utah enthusiast, he graduated from the University of Utah and lived in the Millcreek area of Salt Lake City. He served a faithful mission in Rome, Itay for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. There he gained a love and appreciation for everything Italian, people, culture and especially the food. He built his career in various roles at Goldman Sach’s Salt Lake bank. He married Whitney Scott in the Salt Lake temple in 2006 and they had four children. Eddie’s family was the greatest joy of his life. He was a deeply engaged husband and father. He treasured his wife and cherished his children, supporting their pursuits and encouraging them through times good and bad.
Eddie was an excellent athlete and took full advantage of Utah’s outdoor opportunities. He was an expert skier, water-skier, and mountain biker. He also loved riding dirt bikes and helicopter-skied across the globe; he generally reveled in all things outdoors. He particularly loved introducing his children to all his activities, encouraging them with patience, humor, and occasionally a firm nudge.
He was an avid sports fan, cheering on the Utes, Mammoth and Dallas Cowboys and would follow a variety of professional teams and players, but only those who lived up to his exacting standards. As a devoted hockey fan, he was delighted when Salt Lake acquired a team and had strong opinions on name selection. Some of his favorite times were cheering on the Mammoths with his kids, all of whom he managed to convert into fans.
While he loved all the wild places, Snowbird, Southern Utah, and Hebgen Lake, Montana were favorites. Southern Utah brought adventure and challenge, while Hebgen meant water-skiing, boating, and meaningful time with family and friends. One of Eddie’s greatest passions in life was teaching his kids how to ski at his beloved ski resort, Snowbird. Eddie had a season pass at Snowbird ever since he was four years old.
Eddie had a gift for finding common ground and connection with everyone he met. He gave the good Samaritan a run for his money, always jumping in to help without reservation or complaint. He was up for any challenge, always with a positive, can-do attitude. He found purpose and comfort in the church and served admirably in many callings.
Eddie is survived by his adored wife, Whitney Scott Woolley, his four children, Sadie (17), Spencer (14), Savanna (9), and Lewis (7) Woolley, and his father James Woolley. In addition, his siblings (Sue, Calvin, and Camille), in-laws (Brad and Kathy Scott), nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends are bereft at the loss of his buoyant presence and will always treasure his memory.
Viewings will be held on Friday, June 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday, June 27, from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at the Canyon Rim Stake Center, 3051 S. 2900 E., Salt Lake City, Utah 84109. Funeral services will be held at the Canyon Rim Stake Center on Saturday, June 27, at 12:00 p.m. Interment will follow at Larkin Sunset Lawn, 2350 E. 1300 S., Salt Lake City, Utah.
A livestream of the funeral services can be accessed via the following link: Zoom Link
After landing Darryn Peterson at the top of Tuesday night’s first round, the Utah Jazz are heading into day two of the 2026 NBA Draft without a second round at their disposal.
However, with a front office like the one that’s in Utah, it’d be hard to truly count out the Jazz from making a trade throughout the night to jump into the second round, in the event there was a prospect the Ainges had a certain appeal for.
While most of the big names of this class have already been scooped up in the first 30 picks, there’s certainly a few both interesting and potentially valuable names to keep an eye on through the next 30.
And for the Jazz, a few of them could fit their current lineup or some specific needs well enough that would make sense to get back on the clock once again.
Let’s take a look at four prospects still left up for grabs on day two of the draft that could be a worthwhile pickup for the Jazz to consider trading up for.
Dillon Mitchell | F, St. Johns
An athletic forward fresh off of a season under Rick Pitino at St. John’s, trading up to add another D-Mitchell to Utah’s draft history might not be the worst idea here.
Offensively, he won’t bring a ton to the table, as he only averaged 8.3 points a night during his senior season and shot a rough 6.7% from three. What he does do is check a ton of boxes in terms of size at 6-foot-8, 210 pounds, as well as his abilities as a defender, rebounder, and energy guy enough to warrant a look at the top half of the second round.
For the Jazz, perhaps they’d like to land on a more dynamic fit on both ends than Mitchell. But he sure would bring a nice spark on the defensive end that Utah could utilize after multiple lackluster years of production on that end of the floor.
Richie Saunders | G, BYU
A local product who spent four years with Brigham Young, Saunders might not fit exactly the type of mold on the defensive end that Utah could really covet here in the second round.
However, he does project to be a pretty seamless connecting wing with solid NBA size standing at 6-foot-5, has a strong outside shooting ability with a 38.7% clip from deep from his career, and should be able to at least hold his own on the other end.
He’d be a nice fit in Will Hardy’s system, and have a solid pro career as role player in the wing.
Trevon Brazile | F, Arkansas
If you’re looking for a lengthy, two-way impact player that could fit with the current standout size in this Jazz frontcourt, Brazile would be a perfect fit to bring in that would do just that.
He’s got great length standing at 6-foot-10, can be an ample shot blocker, is a threat at the rim who can finish well, stretches the floor, and on paper, looks like the type of piece in the frontcourt that many front offices around the league would love to get their hands on.
However, he has seen several questions regarding his lighter frame at 225 pounds, and has shown a lack of physicality and a real motor from his time at Arkansas. That same reason is why many GMs might turn away from taking a flier on him.
Jaden Bradley | G, Arizona
For the guards that are up for grabs in this range, Bradley has some of the best traits in terms of size at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, and has the chance to be an impactful player on both ends of the floor as a solid playmaker and perimeter defender.
He wasn’t a high-volume scorer during his three years at Arizona, but he was efficient in his opportunities, shooting over 46% from the field and 39% from three on over nine shots a game. He could be a worthwhile dart throw to bring in for the back-end of the roster.
Another note that could make him a fun target for the Jazz: Bradley and Keyonte George are tight-knit from their days as teammates back at IMG Academy. So he’d be a pretty awesome fit into the locker room on top of the impact he offers on the floor.
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Utah
‘Now’s our time’: Utah Jazz fans rejoice as Darryn Peterson gives them something they’ve been missing
The rookie guard is already dreaming of a championship in Utah.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jazz fans celebrate as the Utah Jazz pick Darryn Peterson in the 2026 NBA Draft during a watch party at The Shops at South Town in Sandy, on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
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