14 hours Ago
The year was 1983, and Dave Checketts was just becoming the president and general manager of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz were millions of dollars in debt, barely staying afloat after moving from New Orleans in 1979. In 1982, Utah sold the rights to its No.
3 draft pick, future NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, for $1 million. Checketts — and the city’s now-longtime NBA franchise — needed a lifeline. “I had never run a lemonade stand then, so I didn’t know quite what to do,” Checketts told The Salt Lake Tribune.
“One of the things I started doing was going all over town trying to raise money.” Spencer F. Eccles, then the chairman of First Security Bank, was there to offer assistance, going to his board and helping put together an $8 million loan to keep the Jazz in town.
(Tribune file photo) Frank Layden announces he is stepping down as head coach of the Utah Jazz while Larry H. Miller, center, and Dave Checketts listen. “Spencer was the one guy who understood that if we lost the NBA team, it would be hard for us ever to get a professional team back there in Salt Lake City,” Checketts said.
It paid off all the franchise’s debt, Checketts said, and helped put together $2 million in working capital. The Jazz then drafted legendary guard John Stockton with the 16th pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. Karl Malone was selected a year later.
The rest was history. In 2025, Checketts is teaming up with the Eccles family once again. Last week, they announced the formation of the Cynosure | Checketts Sports Capital fund, a 50-50 private equity partnership, aiming to invest $1.
2 billion in equity for pro sports teams in the near term. Spence P. Eccles, the son of Spence F.
Eccles, is now the co-founder and managing director of the family’s Cynosure Group, an investment platform with more than $8 billion. He said the new private equity fund will focus on local sports opportunities, but will also look to invest in leagues around the world. Checketts said that could include European soccer leagues and emerging women’s sports leagues.
The private equity company will have local offices located in Salt Lake City, New York and London. “We are focused globally, but we also believe in what’s going on locally,” Eccles said. “When you think about the opportunities that are occurring around the world of sport, you cannot replace it as an investment category.
” The Cynosure | Checketts sports capital fund hopes to play a key part in bringing a Major League Baseball franchise to Salt Lake City. The Miller family and the Larry H. Miller Co.
formed a coalition of Utah leaders in 2023 in hopes of luring an expansion team to the state. Checketts and Eccles said they hope their fund can help the Millers make that a reality. (LHM Company) The Larry H.
Miller Company released new renderings for its plans for the Power District development on Salt Lake City’s west side on Feb. 15, 2024. The 100-acre site along North Temple is where the Miller’s proposed Major League Baseball stadium would be built.
“We just have the greatest of respect and affection for that family,” Checketts said. “They’re good friends of ours. We want them to succeed and do great things, and if we get a chance to be helpful to them in what they’re doing, we certainly would consider that.
” In the past, the Eccles family has played a big part in funding athletics facility projects for the University of Utah, including Rice-Eccles Stadium and the Spence and Cleone Eccles Football Center. But even as Power Four programs fundraise Name, Image and Likeness and revenue-sharing deals ahead of the tentative approval of the House vs. NCAA settlement , they are hesitant to invest in college athletics at the moment.
Checketts said they could eventually engage with the NCAA’s power conferences, but that it’s too early to make a decision. “College athletics, it is a moving target right now,” Eccles said. “It’s going to take a lot of individuals to get it to land on the ground properly.
“We’re definitely interested there, and watching and evaluating because the opportunities seem endless. But when you have massive change in a marketplace, you can find a lot of inefficiencies and a lot of opportunities.” Checketts and Eccles could also be interested in sports and entertainment infrastructure.
In the Salt Lake Valley, there have been several plans announced for entertainment districts, including a downtown entertainment district — proposed by the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG)— set to reshape Salt Lake City under a $1.8 billion plan. “There will definitely be interest in helping with stadium construction and arena construction,” Checketts said.
Eccles added: “That includes properties and any kind of sports districts. It includes technologies that make the fan experience really fantastic. We believe in building people, building teams and building communities.
” For now, Eccles and Checketts will continue to survey and raise funds for the new Cynosure|Checketts Sports Capital fund. But, they said, their mission is clear. “Partnering with great people, building communities and building teams,” Eccles said, “when you think about those things coming together, that’s really what is a key driver for what we’ve established and what we’re excited about.
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