Utah Warriors Announce Plans to Build a New Multi-use Stadium

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, September 29, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Utah Warriors announced today its intentions to build a new 10,000-seat multi-sport stadium, which will serve as the permanent home for the Warriors rugby team by 2023. In addition to Warriors home games during the MLR season, the stadium will serve as a venue for other professional sports teams that the Warriors ownership group intends to bring to the state of Utah. The planned state-of-the-art facility will also play host to the community, high school, concerts, and other entertainment-industry events and serve as the vital anchor tenant for a live-work-play entertainment-style district in one of Utah's Wasatch Front communities.

"We've spent a lot of time building our vision for the future home of the organization, and we are excited to take the next step in this journey," said Kimball Kjar, GM & CEO of the Utah Warriors Rugby team. "Over the last few seasons, we have built a strong fan base and following for the Warriors in the community--we've proven this is a rugby town," he continued. "We intend to build a venue that supports Warriors Nation and that can allow other professional sports teams along with high school sports to play in this venue."

To build the Warriors' first-class facility, the organization has teamed up with sports-venue construction giant Mortenson. Mortenson, the No. 1 Sports Facility Builder according to Engineering News-Record, has been operating in the Utah community since 1983 and recently opened a permanent office in Utah. Mortenson has built nearly 200 collegiate and professional-level sports facilities around the country, including the Golden State Warriors' Chase Center Arena, Nashville SC's soccer stadium, and most recently, the Las Vegas Raiders' Allegiant Stadium.

"We believe the opportunities in the Utah sports industry are uniquely poised for incredible growth," said Josh Caldwell, Business Development Executive and head of Mortenson's Salt Lake City office. "And, we see partnership opportunities with organizations like the Utah Warriors and the MLR, to develop sports facilities in Utah, as an exciting example of an opportunity we are not only uniquely positioned for but also highly invested in for the greater community."

To guide the stadium and surrounding live-work-play development site selection process, the Warriors have formed a Stadium Advisory Committee of business and community leaders. The committee includes:

Guy Woodbury, Sr. VP of Hospitality, Woodbury Corporation
Mike Carey, Director, Protecs
Thom Chuparkoff, Principal, OSports
Josh Caldwell, Business Development Executive, Mortenson
Greg Hughes, Former Utah Speaker of the House, Candidate for Governor of Utah
Steve Barth, Political Consultant, SB Strategies

Details on final site selection are pending, but the Utah Warriors expect to make announcements in the coming months.

The Warriors' stadium announcement comes on the heels of Major League Rugby announcing the 2021 kick-off date. The season will start March 20th with a full slate of 16 games and national TV coverage by media partners CBS Sports and FS2. The MLR Championship is scheduled for August 1st and will be aired on CBS.

Additional Quotes

Wade Sherman, Board of Directors, Utah Warriors
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Adobe

"We are thrilled to be contributing to the future of sports and entertainment in Utah," said Wade Sherman, Utah Warriors Board of Directors member and Adobe Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. "The Warriors fans and our sponsors have been incredibly supportive, and we look forward to working with the Stadium Advisory Committee to find a permanent home, not just for the Warriors, but for other exciting sports properties we're looking at very closely that will provide value to this great state."

Greg Hughes, Gubernatorial Candidate, Utah Speak of the House and Property Developer

"With the evolving business landscape at the Point of the Mountain around Silicon Slopes and with all of the other communities that are growing along the Wasatch Front, the live-work-play model that the Warriors' organization envisions for this stadium and the surrounding development can be a unique and very cost-effective opportunity for our state to bring community-enriching sports and entertainment programming," said Greg Hughes, Gubernatorial Candidate, Utah Speak of the House and Property Developer.

Rob Cuff, Executive Director, Utah High School Athletic Association (UHSAA)

"The UHSAA appreciates the continued investment in premier sporting venues for athletes of all ages by various groups around the state of Utah," said Rob Cuff, UHSAA Executive Director. "By having first-class venues available around the state, our association has more options to provide our student-athletes with a memorable postseason experience."

ABOUT THE UTAH WARRIORS

The Utah Warriors are a professional rugby team and are one of 13 teams competing in Major League Rugby. The Warriors players come from nine different countries and many have local ties to the state of Utah. The team is built upon four core values of Community, Family, Tradition and Respect. To learn about the upcoming 2021 MLR schedule, or to purchase tickets, visit us online at www.warriorsrugby.com.

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