Utah Says It Loves Sports. Now It Needs to Show Up for the Royals.

Utah knows how to show up for sports.

We see it in the rivalry between BYU and Utah. We see it in the loyalty around the Utah Jazz, the passion around Real Salt Lake, and the growing excitement for every team that gives this state something to rally behind. Utah fans know how to build traditions, create atmosphere, and turn games into something bigger than the score.

Now, the Utah Royals deserve that same energy.

Supporting the Royals is not just about buying a ticket to a soccer match. It is an investment in Utah’s economy, culture, and future. Women’s sports are growing quickly, but growth does not happen by accident. It happens when fans show up, when sponsors see value, when media coverage expands, and when local communities decide that women’s teams belong at the center of the sports conversation.

That opportunity is right in front of Utah.

According to Deloitte, global revenue in women’s elite sports reached $2.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach at least $3 billion in 2026. Soccer and basketball are expected to be the two largest revenue drivers, with each projected to account for 35% of global women’s sports revenue in 2026.

That growth matters locally because every ticket sold, every jersey purchased, every broadcast watched, and every story shared sends a message. It tells investors, sponsors, leagues, and media outlets that women’s soccer is not a side project. It is a serious sports market.

Utah fans often want this state to be treated like a major sports market. Supporting the Royals is one way to prove that it already is.

But the value of the Royals cannot be measured only in dollars.

Sports shape culture. They give communities shared rituals, shared memories, and shared heroes. They give families a reason to gather and fans a reason to care. Real Salt Lake has already shown what soccer can become in this state. The Royals can deepen that culture by giving Utah another team, another story, and another community to rally around.

Players like Mina Tanaka, Cloé Lacasse, and Paige Cronin are not just names on a roster. They are part of a growing sports culture where women athletes are visible, celebrated, and taken seriously. They give young fans someone to cheer for and young players someone to imagine becoming.

That visibility matters.

When girls see professional women competing in their own state, they see strength, discipline, leadership, and possibility. They see that sports are not only something to watch from a distance. Sports can be something they belong to. They can stand in the supporters’ section, wear the jersey, ask for autographs, play on the same fields, and picture themselves in the spotlight.

The impact also reaches beyond the players on the field.

Women’s sports create space for women in coaching, training, broadcasting, photography, writing, content creation, front office leadership, and sports media. That matters because representation is not limited to who scores the goals. It also includes who tells the stories.

“I didn’t realize it until it was pointed out, but I was the only woman journalist present in the post-match press conference,” Kayla Sims said. “It’s important for other women to have a woman’s perspective, not just from the players, but from sports media.”

That perspective is part of what makes the Royals important. Supporting women’s sports means supporting the full ecosystem around women’s sports. It means making room for more athletes, more reporters, more coaches, more creators, and more leaders.

When fans support the Royals, they are not only supporting a team. They are helping young girls in Utah imagine bigger futures for themselves.

That is why the Royals should be treated as more than casual entertainment. They are part of Utah’s sports identity. They are part of the growth of women’s sports. They are part of the future this state says it wants to build.

So go to the games. Bring your friends. Bring your family. Follow the team. Share their stories. Learn the players. Talk about the matches. Treat the Royals like they matter, because they do.

If Utah wants to be known as a passionate sports community, that passion cannot stop at men’s sports. It has to show up for the Utah Royals too.