Ryan Smith appears to confirm NHL reports in new interview

Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz, appeared to confirm reports that he’s bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City during a Wednesday appearance at the Sports Business Journal’s World Congress of Sports.

“There’s no secret on what’s out there online. Normally, not everything on the internet is true, but in this case, it’s pretty true,” Smith said, according to Alex M. Silverman of Sports Business Journal.

Earlier this week, the NHL executive committee reportedly approved a plan to move Arizona Coyotes players and operations specialists to Salt Lake City while giving the team’s current owner the opportunity to keep the Coyotes branding, as the Deseret News previously reported.

Then, news broke that Smith Entertainment Group had submitted an application to Salt Lake City officials requesting to create a “Capital City Revitalization Zone” that would trigger a sales tax increase to help fund hockey facilities, whether a brand-new arena or a renovated Delta Center.

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and the Salt Lake City Council released a statement this week saying they will not comment on the proposal for now.

Smith Entertainment Group is set to discuss the proposal on May 7, as the Deseret News has reported.

The Coyotes will play their final game of the season on Wednesday night at Mullett Arena in Tempe.

Due to expectations that the team will relocate to Utah in the offseason, tickets are going for much more than usual.

The cheapest tickets available on Ticketmaster as of Wednesday afternoon cost $350 — and they’re standing room only, meaning they don’t even get you a seat.