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$600 Million Notwithstanding, Buying Control of RSL is Actually Just Another Step in a Multibillion-Dollar Real Estate Play Designed to Land Major League Baseball in Utah

$600 Million Notwithstanding, Buying Control of RSL is Actually Just Another Step in a Multibillion-Dollar Real Estate Play Designed to Land Major League Baseball in Utah

All other industries notwithstanding, it's critical to realize that virtually everything that The Larry H. Miller Company has done since Larry & Gail Miller bought that first Toyota dealership 45+ years ago has been anchored by real estate.

But let's be clear. As profitable and successful as RSL has been and will yet be under the direction of the Miller family and Miller Sports + Entertainment, it's highly likely that the RSL undertaking is merely a stepping stone to spend over $5.0 billion for a massive, upscale real estate development in western Salt Lake City with the intent it will be anchored by a state-of-the-art baseball stadium and an MLB franchise.

"You don't seem to realize what business you're in. You're not in the burger business. You're in the real estate business."

This stunning epiphany uttered by B.J. Novak to Michael Keaton in the 2016 film, The Founder, redirects not only the course of Ray Kroc's life, but the restaurant industry as well.

I'm confident that had Harry Sonneborn ... the real-life person played by Novak who became the future President and CEO of McDonald's ... had Sonneborn actually met Utah-born Larry H. Miller before he purchased his first auto dealership in 1979, I'm sure Sonneborn would have said something similar to Miller, perhaps something like:

"Remember ... you're not in the auto business. You're actually in the real estate business."

Regardless, as Miller and his co-founder wife, Gail, built what became The Larry H. Miller Company (with its various subsidiaries and divisions), it's now clear that real estate has underpinned virtually everything Larry and LHM did prior to his death in 2009, a direction continued at LHM, et.al. under the leadership of Gail in the 14 years years since his passing.

Larry H. and Gail Miller, circa unknown. Photo downloaded from The Larry H. Miller Company website 28 April 2025.

In fact, I believe that that overarching ethos — "We're in the real estate business" — continues to guide and direct everything that Gail, the Miller family and LHM does until this very day.

This includes the decision to acquire controlling interest in Real Salt Lake and all of its related assets, as announced nearly two weeks ago for a reported $600 million.

That said, I'm also confident that the RSL purchase is only part of the story.

The News: Control of RSL is Purchased by the Miller family and Miller Sports + Entertainment for a Reported $600 Million

Two weeks ago on Friday, 18 April 2025, LHM announced that “… The Miller family and Miller Sports + Entertainment (MSE) … (acquired) controlling interest in RSL Football Holdings (the Club).”

The price for acquiring control of the Club (although not officially revealed by LHM or MSE), was reported by the New York Times as being $600 million.

According to the LHM news release, with the investment by the Miller family and MSE, they now have the controlling say in operations of

  • Real Salt Lake, a franchise of Major League Soccer;
  • The Utah Royals FC, the National Women’s Soccer League franchise;
  • The MLS NEXT Pro franchise team, Real Monarchs (a developmental league for Major League Soccer, somewhat comparable [but not identical] to the relationship between minor league baseball and the MLB: Major League Baseball); and
  • The RSL Academy; as well as such real estate assets as 

— America First Field in Sandy, Utah (formerly named Rio Tinto Stadium),

— Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah, and

— The Zions Bank Training Center (also in Herriman).

 As Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company stated in the LHM news release:

“We are honored to join the Real Salt Lake Club and invest in the highest levels of men’s and women’s soccer in both RSL and the Royals. Our combined experience in sports leadership will elevate soccer within Utah and support the club’s goal of winning championships.”

On the surface, it was a move that apparently melded hometown pride, business savvy and serious capital, as the Miller family and LHM returned to the world of major league sports after being absent for 4+ years.

Given the success the Millers and LHM had for 35 years with the Utah Jazz and the National Basketball Association, its not entirely surprising to see the Miller family and LHM return to the world of major league sports.

In fact, it's quite clear that they actually know a thing or two about how to maximize success and produce a sizable Return On Investment (ROI) in the sports and entertainment world.

Obviously, there's also a fairly significant real estate aspect to this $600 million spend, including two purpose-built stadiums that can also serve as venues for other activities, like concerts, conferences, and specialty events.

But in my mind, I think there's more to the RSL deal than meets the eye.

But before delving into this concept, let's consider the real estate aspect of LHM's past endeavors, both prior to Larry's death in 2009 and since then, under Gail's direction.

The Rest of the LHM / Miller Family Real Estate Story

The real estate aspect of Larry Miller's business career began in 1979 when Larry and Gail purchased a Toyota dealership located in Murray, Utah for $3.5 million.

LHM Automotive's Toyota Dealership, its 1st store. Photo downloaded 30 April 2025.

In mid-1985, Larry and the Miller family cemented their role in major league sports when they purchased a 50% ownership stake in the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz franchise for a mere $8 million.

A little over a year later, Miller led the acquisition of the remaining 50% of the Jazz he and Gail did not own for another $14 million in debt.

But three years after that, the ownership of the Utah Jazz thrust the Millers and LHM into real estate in a big way when they locked-down $66 million in financing from Japan-based Sumitomo Trust & Banking Company.

That, along with $20 million in debt from the Salt Lake Redevelopment Agency, allowed Miller, LHM, and the Jazz to build their hometown arena, the Delta Center.

Gail + Larry Miller on-site during construction of the Delta Center (circa ~1990). Photo downloaded from the LHM website 01 May 2025.

By the time Larry Miller passed in early 2009, what was then known as the Larry H. Miller Automotive Group had 60+ locations across seven western states.

These dealerships and the Delta Center were not LHM's only venture into real estate, however.

In fact, 10 years before his passing, the Larry-led LHM ventured into an entertainment / real estate combo when it founded Megaplex Theatres on the old Jordan High School site in Sandy, Utah, a venue with 20 screens at what became known as Jordan Commons, instantly one of the nation’s top-grossing cinemas.

That LHM-developed Jordan Commons location is highlighted by a 10-story office tower that housed the corporate headquarters of LHM on the top floor along with "... 240,000 square feet of rentable office space (and) restaurants ..."

The success of Jordan Commons also established a mixed-use real estate approach that continues at LHM until today, as highlighted by the fact that Megaplex Theatres had grown to 17 locations across Utah and Nevada by 2024, each a mixed-use land play wrapped around movie screens.

After Larry’s Death: A Decade of Calm Followed by a Wave of Land Plays

From Larry’s passing in February 2009 until late 2020, the Gail-led LHM apparently took a smooth-sailing, don't-rock-the-boat approach, with basically no high-profile, real estate related purchases or sales until the latter part of 2020, an apparent strategy that appears to me to be an effort to grow financial stability and savings.

And then things got moving in the latter half of December 2020.

That's when Utah-based tech mogul, Ryan Smith (and his wife, Ashley), purchased the Utah Jazz, the Delta Center, and other related assets in late December 2020 from the Millers and LHM.

Although not disclosed by the Millers, Smiths, the Jazz or the NBA, the final purchase price was pegged at $1.66 billion by multiple media outlets, an acquisition which saw the Miller family maintain a small minority stake in the Jazz.

It also instantly dropped over $1.6 billion directly into the accounts of LHM and the Miller family.

Ryan & Ashley Smith, owners of the Utah Jazz via their holding company, Smith Entertainment Group. Photo downloaded from the Jazz website 28 April 2025.

And then the pace picked-up, each with direct or indirect ties to the world of real estate. For example ...

  • 04 January 2021 (~three weeks after the sale of the Jazz): LHM acquired Advanced Health Care, adding 22 post-acute, rehab and hospice facilities across eight states — a healthcare deal driven by the real estate tied to each location. {Terms of the transaction were not disclosed by either party.} Today, AHC has over 40 facilities across the U.S.
  • 12 April 2021: LHM Real Estate (an LHM subsidiary) acquired Daybreak, the 1,300-acre master-planned community in South Jordan, Utah, securing undeveloped land plus future commercial tracts from Värde Partners. {NOTE: Again, terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. But, as I published back in 2021, I estimated that LHM spent over $1 billion to purchase Daybreak.}

Then, exactly one year after selling the Utah Jazz to SEG and the Smith family, in December 2021, LHM closed the sale of its Larry H. Miller Dealerships and Total Care Auto to Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG) for $3.2 billion, with $740 million of that total covering the real estate assets of the over 60 dealerships sold.

In other words, within the 12-month window of 18 December 2020 to 17 December 2021, LHM and its shareholders (aka, the Miller family), banked nearly $4.9 billion with the sale of their most valuable assets, each tied directly to real estate.

Less than three months later (on 01 March 2022), LHM Real Estate announced it had finalized its purchase of Sandy-based Destination Homes, the original builder of Daybreak, helping LHM cement its control over Daybreak’s ongoing residential development.

And LHM's real estate (and real estate "adjacent") transactions continued from there:

The more than $5 Billion Commitment to Salt Lake City's "Power District"

After several years of both behind-the-scenes and public-facing efforts centered on persuading the MLB to award a franchise to LHM, MSE, and the Miller family, they collectively upped their game by announcing on 15 February 2024 their $3.5 billion commitment to develop the "Power District" in western Salt Lake City.

Long-owned by Rocky Mountain Power, the nearly 100-acre site sits

"... adjacent to the Utah State Fairpark and the Jordan River (and is designed as a) ... multi-function, mixed-use development (that) will feature abundant green space and trails, a beautified Jordan River walk, innovative residential options, majestic views, a focus on local dining and retail, and a potential Major League ballpark ... (that) will be walkable, bikeable, and transit-connected."

The challenge is that there is no commitment, yet, from Major League Baseball that the Millers (or any other interested party), will be able to snag an existing (or new) MLB franchise and bring it to Utah.

That said, the Utah legislature did pass HB 562 during the 2024 legislative session.

Known as The Utah Fairpark Area Investment and Restoration District, HB 562 provides up to $900 million in bonds and tax-increment financing (hotel and car-rental taxes) to fund a state-owned ballpark, so long as a team signs on by 2032. (And yes, the bill was signed into law by Governor Cox shortly after the 2024 session ended.)

To be clear, IF the MLB does agree to allow a franchise in Salt Lake City, figure that it will cost at least $1 billion for such an acquisition, the valuation Sportico placed on the Miami Marlins earlier this year, the lowest valuation estimate it gave to any MLB team.

Add-up all the numbers and we're talking about a potential spend of at least $5.4 billion (in today's dollars) if/when LHM, the Miller family, and the state are done.

So what does Real Salt Lake have to do with LHM's plans for the Power District?

The RSL / MLB Connection

On the surface, I realize that there is absolutely no connection whatsoever between Real Salt Lake and the $600 million purchase of "the Club" by the Miller family / MSE and Major League Baseball.

None at all.

However ... it is clear that LHM and the Millers have been lobbying the powers-that-be at the League itself, as well as the owners of the 30 MLB teams, for a LONG, LONG TIME.

And for anyone willing to do any digging, it's also clear that the owners of at least two MLB franchises are struggling financially, the Marlins being one of them.

Additionally, not only has LHM very publicly announced its plans to spend $3.5 billion to develop the Power District, preliminary construction work on the new home of Rocky Mountain Power in the Power District is underway.

So stuff is definitely happening in western SLC.

What the Millers, LHM and MSE have working for them is that it's beyond obvious that they know how to successfully own and operate a major league sports franchise, as they did for over three decades with the Utah Jazz — including hosting major league all-star festivities and serving as hosts for events during the Winter Olympics in 2002.

That said, the Millers, LHM and MSE have also been "out-of-the-game" (major league sports-wise) for over four years, which on the surface may not seem like a long time.

But in the "Big Leagues," it is, as a lot can (and has) changed between December 2020 and April 2025, across multiple fronts.

Nevertheless, by dropping $600 million to purchase control of RSL, et.al., the Millers, LHM and MSE have made a very public, if indirect, statement to the MLB powers-that-be that

  • We know major league sports,
  • We are committed to Utah,
  • We know what we're doing when it comes to real estate,
  • We have the money, and
  • If we need more money, we can get it.

In other words:

"Let's. Play. Ball."

My guess?

By 2030, I'll be able to sit on the first base sidelines to watch as Jung Hoo Lee, center fielder for my beloved San Francisco Giants blasts a towering, walk-off, three-run-homer to straightaway left field to defeat the hometown Utah Pioneers, 7—4, on a stiflingly hot August night.

And all will be right in the world.

At least for me.

Author's Note

Additionally ... on 03 April 2024, South Salt Lake, Utah-based Torus landed $67 million in venture financing, with LHM one of the strategic investors named in the Torus news release. The timing of this news just didn't fit into the flow of my narrative above. Sorry.

{For interested readers, Torus designs, engineers, and manufactures energy storage and management products for the residential, commercial, and large-scale utility sectors, making this another "real estate adjacent" portfolio company for LHM.}

Publisher's Note

This article/report was originally published and distributed to our Subscribers at approximately 08:15am (MT) on Thursday, 01 May 2025.

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