The Delta Center opens its doors to the public for the first time since April for Thursday’s Utah Mammoth preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings. As excited as fans are to see their NHL team back in action, the most exciting component might be the new-and-improved Delta Center.
The arena opened in 1991 and was built to NBA standards. With an NHL ice surface being more than three-and-a-half times the size of an NBA court, it wasn’t a simple ask to get it to those standards.
In the first part of a three-phase renovation plan to make the building more suitable for hockey, crews extended the end zones by a total of 24 feet, raised the playing floor 2 feet, and installed a new adjustable riser system behind the nets.
They were able to fit the seats where they needed them to be, but it resulted in a slope steep enough to get a double-black diamond rating on a ski slope.
Because of the steepness, there aren’t as many rows behind the nets as there are in other parts of the building. Fans might be glad to know that there’s a lot more leg room there because of it.
Last season, most of that area was unusable. Because they can now seat fans there, the lower-bowl seating capacity has increased by more than 1,100. Every seat in the lower bowl now has unobstructed views.
Utah Jazz fans will not notice as drastic a difference, Smith Entertainment Group has said.
The views from the upper bowl haven’t changed much. The plan is to tackle that over the next two offseasons.
A number of people around the rink have compared it to the Bell Centre, home of the Montreal Canadiens. That’s widely hailed as one of the best arenas in the NHL, by the way.
“It’s really steep,” said head coach André Tourigny, who skated there with the team Thursday morning. “There’s not a lot of rinks — I can recall this one and Montreal — (that are) really steep, and that has an effect when you’re on the ice and you feel the crowd is over you. ... It has a huge impact."
JJ Peterka, the star player the Mammoth acquired from the Buffalo Sabres this summer, played one game at the Delta Center last year. He’s excited to have the crowd on his side this time around.
“Last year was buzzin’ the whole time, so I think it’s going to be exciting skating out of the other end and being the home team here.”
The only thing left is to give the steep areas a skiing-related name — maybe get one of the local ski resorts to sponsor it. Post your ideas in the comments.
