Photos by Lloyd Brown, Stadium Journey
Stadium Info FANFARE Score: 4.00
Delta Center 301 West South Temple Salt Lake City, UT 84101
Year Opened: 1991
Capacity: 16,200 (12,000 unobstructed seats)
Arriving At The Delta Center
The 2024-2025 NHL season found a longtime NHL team now operating out of a new home. This is a result of the relocation of the former Arizona Coyotes franchise to Salt Lake City, Utah. The relocation agreement results in the Arizona Coyotes name being protected in case a future franchise comes to the Valley of the Sun.
The new management of the team decided to keep the team’s new name simple during its first year of operations in Salt Lake City. This means the team will use the Utah Hockey Club name during the 2024-2025 season. The team will conduct a name-the-team contest during this season, to involve its fans in the naming process. This means the blue and white color scheme of the uniforms and the use of the generic team’s name will be changed at the end of the season.
The new team in town will play in the Central Division of the Western Conference in the NHL. The Delta Center will serve as the new home ice for the Utah Hockey Club. It opened in 1991 and has gone through several renovations over the years. There was some suggestion of building a new arena to house the hockey team, but this was seen as impractical, as no building sites were available in the downtown area, and the city did not have the funds to buy and build such a new facility.
Due to a short timeline, the Utah Hockey Club will undertake a remodeling process in the off-season to bring the facility up to a much larger and more functional level. This should be easy to accommodate, as the Utah Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club are owned by the same individual.
Food & Beverage 4
The Delta Center offers a good mix of both local and national vendors in the concessions program.
Pizza slices are available at both the Little Caesars and the Maxwell’s pizza stands.
Ice cream and dairy products are offered at the Farr Better Ice Cream stand, Dippin Dots kiosks, and the Spilled Milk Ice Cream and Cereal Bar. Food with a 50’s fare is served at the Ice Berg Drive Inn stands.
Alcoholic drinks are served at the Hop Shop and Craft Shop concession stands.
The Salt City Smokehouse serves delicious BBQ. South of the border, specialties are offered at the Costa Vida Fresh Mexican Grill and at Chile Verde. The J. Dawgs stand serves typical stadium/arena fare. This includes hot dogs ($9), fries ($6), Coca-Cola brand sodas ($8.50) and water ($5).
The Delta Center recently announced a limited set of “fan favorite” menu items that will be available at reduced prices. Popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, and Farr’s ice cream bowls will each be priced at $3, while Dasani bottled water is being marked down to $2.
Most of the food and beverage items are available by using the mobile ordering function on the Delta Center app. You order from your seats and are notified when your order is ready. This minimizes any time lost from watching the game and shortens the lines experienced at the concession stands overall.
Atmosphere 3
After a gypsy existence in the Phoenix area over the last few seasons, the former Arizona Coyotes have settled into their permanent home at the Delta Center. While the Mullett Arena had nice amenities, it was severely undersized for a major league sports franchise.
The Delta Center has been around for nearly 35 years, but it has undergone several major renovations over the years to keep up with the changes in the sports facilities industry. It offers comfortable 20-inch-wide seats, a state-of-the-art scoreboard at center ice, and a video board in each of the four corners of the facility.
The concourses are open towards the ice, so you do not miss much of the action when you visit one of the concession stands.
The atrium at the front of the Delta Center is expansive enough to hold the large crowds upon arrival so that fans can get in from the wintry elements very quickly.
We would give an even higher score to this element of the Delta Center, but there is one glaring negative, which will be addressed at the end of the 2025-2025 hockey season. The seating bowl has never been used in a hockey configuration before, resulting in some obstructed views for seats at the two ends of the ice. There was not sufficient time when the franchise was moved to address this issue. However, immediately after the inaugural hockey season ends, the Delta Center will make the needed adjustments in time for future seasons.
Neighborhood 5
The Delta Center is located just west of downtown Salt Lake City. It is located at the corner of West Temple and John Stockton Drive. It is surrounded by several older buildings, some small shops, and some city services. The owner of the team is working closely with city officials to redevelop the district with more residential properties, as well as amenities like banks, shops, and schools.
The area around the Delta Center offers many activities within walking distance of the venue. Lodging is available at the Radisson Hotel/Salt Lake City Downtown, the Hyatt House Salt Lake City Downtown, or the Courtyard Downtown Salt Lake City.
Nearby attractions include the Discovery Gateway Children’s Museum, as well as Temple Square, the world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Utah Sports Hall of Fame is just a short walk from the Delta Center.
The neighborhood around the arena also offers a wide variety of dining options before or after the game. Restaurants within walking distance of the arena include the Copper Canyon Grill House and Tavern and the Adelaide Urban Brasserie. Both the Squatter Pub Brewing Company and the Red Rock Brewery are located within a few blocks of the Delta Center.
Fans 4
The fans in Salt Lake City have welcomed the former Coyotes with open arms. Typically, a new city comes into the NHL via the expansion route, which takes years to build a competitive program. Since the team arrived through relocation, the Utah Hockey Club bypassed the longer developmental route and has a team of veterans who have played together for years.
The quick sellout of season ticket packages is indicative of the high level of interest in hockey in Salt Lake City. The team has also benefitted from the fact that it is only the second professional team in the city. It only faces the Jazz as competition for the major sports dollars in the area.
Another positive aspect of the team’s fanbase is that a sizable portion of the local population has grown up playing the game and is knowledgeable about the sport. Salt Lake City is a winter sports city, as evidenced by hosting the Winter Olympic Games twice in the recent past. This means there is not a major learning curve for the fans with the arrival of an NHL franchise.
The team’s decision to let the fans get involved with the naming of the team has been very well received. The team has “ballot boxes” and other voting options available to fans to voice their support for one of the many names proposed for the team. This has created a definite feeling of “buy-in” between the team and its fans.
The Delta Center has a longtime reputation as one of the loudest venues in professional sports.
Access 5
Utah uses the Seat Geek ticketing system for entry into the Delta Center. No matter what vendor you purchase your tickets from, the seats must be available on the Seat Geek app at the door.
Doors at the arena open 90 minutes before the opening puck drop.
The Trax light rail system has a station practically at the front door of the Delta Center. The station serves both the blue and green lines. It is the most cost-effective way to get to the arena, as the system is free within the downtown zone or only $2.50 per ride if coming in from the outside areas of the city.
The Delta Center is just a couple of blocks from the intersections of I-15 and I-80 for fans coming from outside the Salt Lake City area.
Return on Investment 3
Attending a Utah Hockey Club game during the 2024-2025 season is an expensive proposition. The team almost immediately sold out their season tickets package when they went on sale. More than 11,000 season ticket packages were sold in just four hours.
This left just over 5,200 single-game tickets available per game. As a result, the tickets are extremely expensive due to the laws of demand. These premium-priced tickets result at the end of the ice seats going for $230, with seats in the lower-level corners being priced at $552.
Center ice tickets are $210. You should avoid buying tickets in sections 107-137 and 117-127, if possible, as these sections will only have a partial view of the ice. This issue will be addressed after the 2024-2025 season through a restructuring of the seating bowl that will address the sight lines for people seating in the above sections.
Another cost of attending a Utah Hockey Club game is getting to the venue. The Delta Center’s immediate parking area is reserved for season ticket holders. There are more than 10,000 parking spaces located within a few blocks of the Delta Center.
These lots can be found at the City Creek Center, Park Place, and the Triad Center. These lots operate on a prepurchase basis, with reserved parking available through the Delta Center app. The tickets are sold online with prices of $210 for a seat at center ice, $230 for a seat at the end of the ice, and $552 for lower-level seats in the corners.
A much more convenient and cost-effective solution in getting to a game is to take the TRAX light rail system. There is a TRAX rail station located in front of the arena. The TRAX system operates within a free fare zone; this would allow you to ride free of charge if you did not leave the media area. Rides for fans that do go outside of these zones will only pay the $2.50 standard fare.
Extras 4
The Delta Center hosted several events during the 2002 Olympics. Among the competitions held were the U.S Figure Skating Championship and the short-track speed skating event.
Salt Lake City has hosted two minor league hockey programs in the past. These include both the Salt Lake Golden Eagles and the Utah Grizzlies, who play in the Maverick Center in West Valley City.
The Delta Center is energy efficient, as there are more than 2,500 solar panels on the roof of the arena.
Salt Lake City will once again be hosting the Winter Olympic Games. They will be hosting the Games for a second time in the winter of 2034. It was chosen because it already has most of the facilities in place, offers excellent air connections from around the world, and has the support of more than 80% of Salt Lake City residents.
Final Thoughts
Salt Lake City has welcomed the former Coyotes with open arms and an arena that is much better suited to handle the large crowds the Utah Hockey Club is attracting in its new hometown.
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