SLC one of the top U.S. cities for basketball fans
May 10, 2024, 12:00 PM
Fans reach for Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) following the team's NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, Jan. 25, 2019, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City is ranked the number four overall best city for basketball fans according to WalletHub, and is ranked number one when compared to other mid-sized cities.
Utah’s capital beat out New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and 286 other cities.
What Jazz basketball fans are saying
Season ticket holder Jared Neemer was heading into the Jazz Store at the Delta Center and stopped to speak with KSL NewsRadio.
“I haven’t traveled to many other arenas, but I think where we don’t have another pro team here competing, that a lot of Salt Lake people are all in on [the] Jazz . . . In Chicago, you’ve got two baseball teams. You got a football team a basketball team, so I could see how you would be less intense about the Bulls.”
The WalletHub report uses 21 different factors to rank cities. Factors include the performance level of the city’s NBA team, the average ticket price, stadium capacity and average attendance.
Colin Olsen calls himself a fan but said he doesn’t lose sleep when the Jazz lose.
“You can build lists like that however you want, depending on which criteria you choose right? But I think we’re pretty spirited fans… We cheer loud and care about the team. So, I wouldn’t say that’s entirely inaccurate.”
The study ranks Los Angeles, Boston, and San Francisco above Salt Lake. That’s good news for Austin Epps who just moved to Utah and calls himself a Celtics fan. His buddy, Rich Banks is a Jazz fan and told Austin the Delta Center gets loud during Jazz games.
“I think it’s pretty crazy if it gets that loud in there, but I do support people appreciating their teams, which is cool.”
Rounding out the top five mid-sized cities in the WalletHub study are Durham, North Carolina; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Norman, Oklahoma and Syracuse, New York.
