Last night, RSL commentator Brian Dunseth brought up a point that has us all in a bit of a tizzy: Theres a non-zero possibility that RSL could have suitors from Las Vegas.

Now, it should be noted that its speculation, and hes not revealing anything that he is certain about at least, not directly but that doesnt mean that it has me feeling particularly good about it.

WATCH: Talkin Real

That said, I dont think itll happen, and maybe thats me being overly optimistic. Why? Well, lets get into it.

This is not a case of MLS contracting Chivas USA, who were sadly not well-supported, didnt have their own stadium, and had a poor reputation. If Real Salt Lake were to be transplanted to Las Vegas (a move Id only be OK with if they were legally obligated to keep the extant name), theyd be starting anew, and thats not an insignificant effort.

Of course, this on its own isnt actually evidence that MLS wouldnt do something like this at least, not solely because of this. But think about it: Real Salt Lake was once a top market for MLS, despite our relative smallness. Our local ratings were (and perhaps still are) better than many other, much bigger markets. MLS needs vibrant small markets to survive in the medium-term, and while they might love to be rid of small markets at some point, I dont think its the sort of thing that makes much sense for a league that still is below even the NHL in popularity.

Now, does that mean MLS isnt trying to get into Las Vegas? Of course not. They probably see it as an attractive option. (I, however, think its terrible. Have you been to Las Vegas in the summer? It is not great.)

The future of MLS necessarily involves selling players that have come up in academies. MLS as a development league has been a talking point for a long time, and Real Salt Lake has helped lead the way on that. Even while we have made some fairly massive missteps, we are a pioneering club, and we have built infrastructure to account for that.

Are there problems with the academy? Certainly, and while I dont think thats unusual in MLS, it is worth paying attention to those problems. And are charter schools sometimes academically tenuous? Absolutely.

But thats no reason to dump what is a massive investment into the club by Dell Loy Hansen. It is included in the sale, and it will be vital for the success of this team and this league.

I know Las Vegas may be an attractive option for Major League Soccer, but I dont think theyre particularly interested in that coming at the expense of an existing team. If we look at the Columbus/Austin drama, it is telling that MLS didnt just say, OK, youre going to Austin, damn the consequences. MLS is not, I think, interested in contraction at this point the look isnt great, after all and along with other factors here, I dont think theyll want to uproot Real Salt Lake.

Utah has quite a few very wealthy people who will be interested in Real Salt Lake, having come into money through the tech landscape. Ryan Smith might have been the most interested, best party at the time, but that certainly doesnt mean hed be the only party in the mix.

Does it mean I know about an interested party in Utah thats not Ryan Smith. Sadly, no. But I would not be surprised if there was one. I dont think we even necessarily need a billionaire (what a weird world we live in, that anybody needs a billionaire) we could easily have a group bid with Utah roots.

This is my last point, and I think its the most salient. We dont have evidence that Ryan Smith isnt interested in buying the club. Yes, he just dropped a massive amount of cash on the Jazz, but let us consider a few things.

First, we absolutely know that Ryan Smith was interested.

Second, we absolutely know that the Larry H. Miller Group was interested. Running multiple sports franchises in a market provides some integrative benefits, and Id imagine that was a substantial part of their interest.

Third, we know that Ryan Smith bought the Utah Jazz for something like $1.6 million BILLION. Thats a lot of money. RSL would be maybe a third of that, optimistically (for Dell Loy Hansen, at least.)

Ed. Note: A previous version of this story said Smith bought the Jazz for $1.6 million. That would be a real steal. It has been corrected and capitalized to emphasize that its a whole lot of money.

The benefits of owning multiple franchises in the market remain. His ownership of the Jazz does not preclude that. RSL may not be his boyhood team (hes not that young, though he is remarkably young) but his interest was real in the beginning. So hopefully he, you know, likes us. Id like him to like us.

Continued here:

Five reasons RSL (hopefully) wont move to Las Vegas - RSL Soapbox