Utah Royals ownership says first playoff run is only the beginning

Utah Royals teammates celebrate Tatumn Milazzo’s (2) goal. | Emma Corona Fourteen hours before one of the biggest college football games in the country kicks off in Salt Lake City, another Utah team will play in the biggest game in its history 750 miles away.In its third season back in the NWSL, Utah Royals FC faces San Diego Wave FC on Friday in the 2026 NWSL quarterfinals for Utah’s first-ever playoff match. It’s an achievement the original iteration of the Royals fell short of in its three years of existence before relocating to Kansas City.“I think it’s just a privilege,” head coach Jimmy Coenraets said in his Wednesday media availability. “You belong to the best eight teams of 2026 in the NWSL, and I think that’s a performance in and of itself, and realizing that and also being able to just put yourself in that position that whatever happens next is good.”While many of the names on the roster may be familiar, this Royals team is far from the team fans saw the last two seasons. The 2026 Royals have more wins than in the last two seasons combined and found themselves in both the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in the NWSL standings throughout the season.The Deseret News caught up with Miller Sports + Entertainment President Michelle Smith to discuss the Utah Royals’ ascension, expanding the fanbaseand Friday’s playoff match, which she said she “couldn’t be more excited” about.“This season’s already been a huge success from winning six games last season to where we are now,” Smith said. “There’s so much to celebrate.”The keys to the Utah Royals’ 2026 successPlayoffs were the goal for the Royals, president of soccer operations Jason Kreis told the Deseret News two months before the season. But injuries and the unavailability of star Japanese players Mina Tanaka and Miyabi due to the AFC Women’s Asian Cup at the start of the season threatened that goal. The Royals dropped the first two matches before going on a 10-game unbeaten streak — seven wins and three draws. They added seven more wins to close out the regular season.“It means so much because they’re representing what’s so great about our state,” Smith said. “Our state is one where you can come and have dreams, and you can work hard and build those dreams, and you can have this tremendous support of resources and fandom and belief in you that will allow you to be successful.”“There’s a ton of magic to the state of Utah in being able to attract and retain really exceptional athletes.”Michelle SmithDuring her red card suspension, captain Paige Cronin sat in the owner’s suite at America First Field with Smith, who asked Cronin what “the magic” was this season. The captain said it was the players’ desires “to win for each other.”The club’s camaraderie is no secret. In May, Utah native and Royals newcomer Courtney Brown said the club’s “superpower is that we like each other.”“They felt that connection to each other and the value they were receiving from the club, and I think that allowed them all to kind of just be better together,” Smith said.The culture and chemistry among players coupled with Coenraets’ coaching and the club’s investment in player health this season created a formula for success.“You top that off with Jimmy Coenraets, who’s helping coach them in a way that they can thrive mentally and physically,” Smith said. “Kate Del Fava has shared with us how important and how much she’s learned from Jimmy in her time with him. You have Kelly Cousins, who has advocated — and we’ve listened — in investing so much more into the player health side.” Jimmy Coenraets talks with Kelly Cousins, sporting director for the Utah Royals, after a press conference where Coenraets was introduced as the Utah Royals’ new head coach at America First Field in Sandy on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. | Isaac Hale, Deseret News As a result of Cousins’ advocating, Utah Soccer, the parent organization of both the Royals and Real Salt Lake, hired Dave Tenney as both clubs’ first senior director of player health and performance. Tenney “then hired more performance staff and medical staff and additional coaches,” according to Smith.The hires paid off with the Royals having a 90% availability rate, according to Jenny Teemsma, Miller Sports + Entertainment’s vice president of communications and community.“That has made a significant difference this season,” Smith said. “You can’t have great performance on the field if you don’t have healthy players and manage injuries to be as few as possible … We’re hearing that value back from the players that they’ve never felt from the club the support that they feel now, right down to the staff that’s around and caring for them.”The talented roster also makes a difference.ESPN ranked three Royals players in its list of top 25 NWSL players — Del Fava, Tanaka and Cloé Lacasse — which it released Friday. Lacasse has the second-most assists in the league with 10.The club scored 44 goals, 57% more than last season. Three players had five or more goals — Tanaka with nine, Lacasse with eight and Cece Delzer with five — and 10 players scored at least twice.“We have remarkable players,” Smith said. “We have 10 players that played on their international teams. You don’t get to do that unless you were the best of the best.”“We’re all in, just like these players are with us and the staff and coaches, and we can’t do it without all of them.”Michelle SmithThis season, the club signed Lacasse, Miyabi, Delzer, Jameese Joseph and Kaleigh Riehl to extensions, adding to the core it has locked in for the next two seasons.“Those players that really want to come and play for the culture and for the team end up coming here, and then they realize, ‘Oh my word, I’m in a market that is absolutely, stunningly beautiful. I’m in a market that’s safe. I’m in a market that completely supports me and rallies around me,’” Smith said.“I think that is why we’re able to do these new contracts with all of these players. … There’s a ton of magic to the state of Utah in being able to attract and retain really exceptional athletes.” Growing the Royals’ swarmBefore the start of the season, the Royals debuted their third kit, the Swarm, which is based on the club’s belief that “no single bee defines the hive.”With that theme in mind, Smith wanted to focus on building the club’s swarm of fans. She admits the organization didn’t tell the club’s and players’ stories “in the best way we could have when the Royals came back to Utah,” which became an area of refocusing this season.In an increasingly crowded market with NBA, NHL, MLS, Minor League Baseball, top-tier collegiate programs, LOVB and AUSL, making sure the Royals stand out requires investing in marketing. This season, Utah Royals billboards dotted I-15, buses were wrapped with players’ images and the club partnered with local social media influencers to promote match-day experience.The organization tried to appeal to various target audiences, from the girl dads to young adults. It hosted “Matchday Marketplace,” a mini farmers and crafts market, before some of the matches. One night, they hosted “Game Day for the Girls” with a free post-match showing of the movie “She’s the Man” on the pitch.“That is the work that we’ll continue to do, is break the mold a little bit to make sure that we’re creating the space for the Royals to be seen and that we also understand who the fan is,” Smith said.Planning has already begun for storytelling, investments and brand work — new kits are designed years in advance — for the next three seasons.“We’re all in, just like these players are with us and the staff and coaches, and we can’t do it without all of them,” Smith said.“I think the biggest challenge right now is making sure 2027 looks pretty much like 2026 again.”Jimmy CoenraetsAccording to Smith, Royals single-game ticket sales were up by 57% and total tickets distributed was up by 21%. More than 90% of season ticket holders have already renewed for the 2027 season.The entire NWSL saw a 3% year-over-year increase in attendance this season, largely boosted by expansion club Denver Summit FC, Sports Business Journal reported. Utah’s average attendance increased from 8,727 in 2025 to 9,143 in 2026.“The beautiful part is we still have plenty of space to grow. We’re not confined,” Smith said of the 20,000-seat America First Field.Just the beginningWin or lose Friday in San Diego, the season has been a success in the eyes of the club’s owners, according to Smith.“No matter what the outcome is on Friday, as an ownership group, we could not be more pleased with this club, and we continue to be super pleased and excited about the future,” Smith said.Going into this season, ESPN ranked the Royals dead-last in its preseason prediction, and CBS Sports had the Royals in 11th, just a one-spot improvement from last year’s 12th-place finish. Friday’s quarterfinal match and sustaining this season’s success next year can help change the club’s perception across the league.“That’s the biggest piece for us, just making sure from an NWSL perspective people know that we’re serious about what we do,” Coenraets said Wednesday. “I think the biggest challenge right now is making sure 2027 looks pretty much like 2026 again, and I think if you do it again, people will look differently at you, without a doubt. They’ll have to.”But Smith isn’t worried about that challenge.“I see for the future of this momentum just continuing to carry on and us establishing a legacy of a winning culture and team for years to come,” she said. “That would be my absolute hope and intention.”Utah Royals FC’s match against San Diego Wave FC starts at 8 p.m. MST and will be streamed on Prime Video. The Utah Royals squad takes a photo with defender Kaleigh Riehl (18) in celebration of 100 NWSL appearances. | URFC