Philadelphia 76ers co-owner David Blitzer has expanded his ownership of professional sports teams. Yesterday, it was announced that the David Blitzer & Smith Entertainment Group purchased Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake.

Ryan Smith has joined Blitzer in ownership of the club. Real Salt Lake didn’t have an owner for some time due to the former owner being kicked out of the league following an investigation that revealed a history of racist remarks. Yikes.

Here is the official news release from 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.

Future NBA Hall of Famer Dwayne Wade has joined Blizter and Smith, purchasing a stake in the club as well. Wade has ventured into the business world following his retirement and his first move was purchasing a stake in the Utah Jazz back in April.

This will now be Wade’s second stake in a professional sports team as he is now involved in the MLS.

David Blitzer continues to build on an exceptional portfolio. With the purchase, Blitzer now has ownership of Crystal Palace, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia 76ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Real Salt Lake.

Blitzer is also set to take over ownership of the Cleveland Guardians, still known to many as the Cleveland Indians before a name change at the end of last year’s Major League Baseball season.

Following the Major League Soccer SuperDraft on January 11th, Real Salt Lake will report to preseason training on January 16th. The soccer club returns to regular-season action on February 27th to kick off the 2022 campaign at Houston Dynamo FC.

On the Union front, you can view all updates on the soccer club here.

Mandatory Credit: Real Salt Lake