Utah Hockey Club officials and team members rallied in Sandy on Monday to turn a ceremonial shovelful of dirt at the future site of the club’s twin-sheet practice facility, currently a parking area at the south end of the Shops at South Town retail complex.
Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the newly minted Utah NHL franchise that will carry the “Hockey Club” moniker for its first season before a permanent name is chosen, announced it’s fast-tracking the project with the goal of having the training center up and running in time for the 2025-2026 season. Earlier this month, SEG announced it had purchased the 111-acre site, which includes the mall, surrounding parking lot and some adjacent retailers, restaurants and hospitality buildings on the property between I-15, 10000 South, State Street and 10600 South. SEG plans to make the facility available for community purposes outside of Utah Hockey Club’s designated use such as youth and amateur hockey and recreation.
SEG founder and NHL governor for Utah Hockey Club Ryan Smith said making the practice complex accessible to the public falls into the club’s mission statement of building out the sport of hockey in Utah at all levels.
“When our guys are off the ice the community is going to be on the ice and I don’t think there’s another sport like that where they took over the playing surface,” Smith said at the event. “And hopefully these are your kids, these are your grandkids, these are your friends. Our goal is not only bringing NHL to Utah but truly, truly building out the sport in Utah.”
What else is in store at South Town?
Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski was wearing her trademark red cowboy hat Monday as she shared some insights after visiting hockey operations in Seattle and Las Vegas, the NHL’s last two expansion teams, that have also made practice facilities publicly accessible and said the Sandy project will be a shot in the arm for the struggling shopping complex as well as the broader community.
“Today we’re putting a stake in the ground for the future success of our city,” Zoltanski said. “People are so excited for hockey in Sandy. People are literally gearing up and can’t wait to have practice time on the ice for figure skating, hockey practice leagues, youth leagues.”
In his comments, Smith alluded to future projects at the mall site that will go beyond just building the new practice facility.
“We plan on not just stopping with the ice center here but actually making this a destination for people to come and interact with the NHL brand,” Smith said.
While SEG officials weren’t ready to talk about what other projects in the area might look like, Zoltanski said the property was a perfect location for additional investment.
“In the long run we know this is a property that’s ripe for economic redevelopment from shopping center, restaurants, housing, transit connectivity,” Zoltanski said. “We are ready for it all and I imagine it’s all going to come together right here.”
Ryan and Ashley Smith bought the struggling Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion and moved the team to Salt Lake City in April. While the Utah Hockey Club will play its first season in the Delta Center, also home of the SEG-owned Utah Jazz, a renovation plan is in the works that will aim to optimize the venue for both basketball and hockey. The project is just one aspect of SEG’s massive, multibillion dollar downtown revitalization proposal currently making its way through a visioning and financing process.
