Sixers Co-Owner David Blitzer Buys MLS Franchise
Sixers co-owner David Blitzer is expanding his already expansive portfolio.
The rumored purchase of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake is now official, per the MLS website:
Major League Soccer’s Board of Governors unanimously approved the sale of Real Salt Lake and the club’s associated properties to David Blitzer and Ryan Smith’s Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), MLS Commissioner Don Garber announced.
This transaction includes Rio Tinto Stadium, Zions Bank Training Center and RSL Academy in Herriman, Utah.
Blitzer adds Real Salt Lake as a central piece of an ever-expanding sports and entertainment portfolio, which includes teams in the National Basketball Association, National Hockey League, the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga. His holdings also include leading sports and entertainment assets such as the Prudential Center and several other sports entities worldwide.
If you’re keeping track, Blitzer, who is one half of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, now has the Sixers, Devils, Steelers, Crystal Palace, and Real Salt Lake in his portfolio, and is reportedly nearing a deal to acquire a majority stake in the Cleveland Guardians (formerly the Indians).
Smith, his partner in the RSL deal, is the majority owner of the Utah Jazz and Vivint Arena, where the team plays.
The wrinkle here is that RSL currently did not have an owner and was being operated by Major League Soccer. That’s because the former owner was essentially booted when an investigation revealed that he had a history of making racist comments. So it wasn’t like Blitzer purchased directly from another owner, it was actually an interim league-run thing and he came in via that route. Josh Harris isn’t involved in this particular deal, but you see both guys have expanded beyond just the Sixers and Devils in recent years.