WEST VALLEY CITY — Maverik may be the new name of the former E Center, but the name on most people's lips during Saturday's celebration was Bieber — 16-year-old pop sensation Justin Bieber, that is.
"He's such a great role model to everybody. He's very, very attractive. He's our age. And he's got great songs," said Megan Gammell, 16, of North Ogden.
She burst into tears in front of a crowd of about 200 other girls when she won a pass to meet Bieber in person before the concert. The show was the grand finale of the day's events to celebrate the renaming of the E Center to the Maverik Center.
A ribbon cutting officially kicked off the new name of the Center Saturday afternoon. Poised with oversized red-handled scissors, West Valley leaders joined Maverik officials, as well as representatives of Centennial Management Group — the company that manages the center for the city.
"We're thrilled to have you be part of the West Valley family," West Valley Mayor Mike Winder told Maverik officials.
Residents attending the celebration agreed it's a great combo and a cool name. "Maverik Center doesn't sound too sponsor-ish," said Geoff Heinrich, 32, of Clinton. "It sounds like a rad place to go. Someplace where exciting stuff happens."
The big excitement Saturday was magnified if you were a girl between ages 12 and 17 or so. Ticket giveaways had kids competing for who had the best Bieber poster. Winner Gammell said she and her friend Lexie Ellertson, 13, of Orem, spent almost two months cutting out pictures of Bieber from magazines and the Internet to make a poster collage. "He's hot," Ellertson said.
And some kids won a raffle for a two-person VIP package that included hanging out with Bieber before the concert and sitting in front-row seats for the show. Austin Robertson, 17, of West Valley City, put his name in the raffle so he could bring his sister Dezerai Robertson, 13. "I'm so happy I could cry," Dezerai said.
The former E Center, 3200 South Decker Lake Drive, is one of Utah's biggest venues with a 12,500-seat arena. It is home to the Utah Grizzlies ECHL hockey team and the Utah Blaze Arena Football League team. The arena was built in 1997 and was a host venue for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Maverik is the region's leading convenience and gas retailer and is headquartered in North Salt Lake.
e-mail: astewart@desnews.com
TWITTER: AKStewDesNews