Real Salt Lake Potential Ownership Group Promises Bright Future For Club Under One Condition

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake may have ownership sooner rather than later, according to a recent report by Sportico suggesting that an ownership group that includes billionaire David Blitzer is in the final stages of negotiations to purchase the club.

The Real Salt Lake fanbase online has been torn by the breakthrough news with some excited about the news while others concerned over the immediate future of the club.

Billionaire David Blitzer is reportedly in the final stages of negotiations to purchase @realsaltlake.

Blitzer, 52, has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion 😳https://t.co/oSvErs29Ci

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) November 11, 2021

Let’s make one thing really, really, really clear – Real Salt Lake is not being moved. The club will remain in Utah. So the concern over the club being moved needs to stop. It isn’t happening.

Additionally, fans are upset that Blitzer’s group may not prioritize Real Salt Lake given his ownership involvement in numerous other professional sporting franchises such as the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, Crystal Palace, among other bigger investments.

The concern is certainly valid, it makes sense that Blitzer may not be as fixated with Real Salt Lake as he is with Crystal Palace. But what if that was a good thing?

You see, Dell Loy Hansen was heavily involved. He loved to be the center of attention, he loved to talk about how he owned a professional sports club and was involved in just about every meaningful decision within the club. In fact, Dell Loy Hansen’s undoing was when he went on a radio station he owned to complain about how the players of Real Salt Lake should have thought of the other employees of the stadium and club before postponing a game an hour prior to kickoff in a show of support for social justice and racial equality.

Dell Loy Hansen was far too involved and was far too outspoken.

The key to good ownership, at any level and in any sport is putting certified people in positions to make decisions that are in the best interest of the club. And to pay those individuals appropriately while also financially supporting the long-term project.

OR

Those ‘random teams’ create a pipeline of opportunity that never existed before for #RSL https://t.co/eEKfLKkqQi

— Brian Dunseth (@BrianDunseth) November 11, 2021

Let’s also make something very clear, Hansen invested a lot of money into the long-term structure and project of the club. He did not invest in the first team. If Blitzer’s group purchases Real Salt Lake and spends even just a little bit on first-team players that will be better than what Hansen did.

Furthermore, assuming that Blitzer is willing to spend enough money to realistically compete with the likes of the Seattle Sounders of the league, then the fact that he will not be frequently involved in the day-to-day operations, the more likely Real Salt Lake is to have success!

General Manager Elliot Fall and the Real Salt Lake front office is far more equipped to sign off on a player than Blitzer and his ownership group would be.

Again, to reiterate the point, Blitzer must spend money to further enhance the team but he must also ensure that the qualified employees that he signed off on are making decisions that are in the best interest of the club.

In other words, Blitzer’s role is to financially fund the club, he should not be involved in player acquisition decisions. Other employees are far more qualified in that regard.

His ownership in other higher-profile sporting franchises may in fact work out in Real Salt Lake’s favor, assuming that he knows his role within the club’s landscape.