Salt Lake City hasn’t had a chance to prove itself as a hockey town, but it has a ways to go to match the city that one analysis says is the best place for fans in the United States.
Boston topped the list of best cities for hockey fans, according to a study by the personal finance website WalletHub. It ranked 76 U.S. cities based on 21 key indicators, including ticket prices, stadium capacity and performance of each city’s professional and college teams. (Canadian cities were not included.)
One of the Original Six and the first American franchise to join the NHL, the Boston Bruins have the most regular season wins among U.S. teams in league history. (The Montreal Canadiens have the most.) The Bruins have won 20 division titles and have taken home six Stanley Cups, the third-most in any U.S. city. The Bruins also are the third-most valuable NHL team in the U.S., valued by Forbes at $1.9 billion. They have the third-most engaged fans on social media, according to WalletHub.
Boston also does well when it comes to NCAA hockey. It has three Division I teams: Boston College, Boston University and Northeastern University. Collectively, they have brought Boston 10 NCAA titles, the most of any city, with the wins split between Boston College and Boston University.
NHL taking off
Though not as popular as the NFL, NBA and MLB, the NHL is projected to have a record $6.2 billion in revenue this season. The NHL playoffs are among the most exciting in all of sports, with the Stanley Cup Finals right around the corner. The Bruins, who last won the Stanley Cup in 2011, were eliminated in the second round this year.
“Hockey is one of the most under-appreciated sports in America, but its popularity is steadily growing, bringing in record-breaking revenue and attendance. The best cities for hockey provide good opportunities to watch high-performing NHL teams in person, and sometimes NCAA teams as well. They also have some of the most dedicated fans in the country,” Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst, said in a statement.
Last month, Ryan Smith, owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, bought the struggling Arizona Coyotes for $1.2 billion and moved the NHL team to Salt Lake City. The yet-to-be-named team’s first season in Utah will start this fall. Fans packed the Delta Center to give the players and coaches a raucous welcome at a celebration in April. Thousands of Utahns have also put down deposits for season tickets, the number at least double the capacity of the arena.
In addition to the new yet-to-be-named Utah NHL team, Salt Lake City is home to men’s and women’s Division I hockey teams at the University of Utah. The state also has a minor league team, the Utah Grizzlies, that play in neighboring West Valley City.
Glendale, Arizona, where the Coyotes played for a time, ranked 18th on WalletHub’s list of best U.S. hockey cities.
Top 5 hockey towns
Rounding out the top five were Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver and St. Louis.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five Stanley Cups. According to WalletHub, the Penguins have the most engaged fanbase of any team when it comes to followers on social media, as well as the best local ratings on TV. Pittsburgh has the fourth-biggest stadium capacity in the nation, too. The greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area is home to Robert Morris University, which has a Division I hockey team.
The Detroit Red Wing have won 11 Stanley Cups, the most of any U.S. team. They have won 16 division titles. They also have the sixth-most engaged fans on social media, along with the sixth-best local ratings on TV. Detroit does not have a Division I college team.