Ryan Smith states NHL Utah team outselling Coyotes

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Ryan Hall
April 19, 2024 (7:47)

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Earlier this afternoon, NHL Board of Governors had approved the final sale of the Arizona Coyotes operations to Ryan Smith of the Utah Jazz. This news led to record season ticket sales as they had collected 6000 season ticket deposits within the first two hours of operations.

It's quite clear that the people of Utah in Salt Lake City have an appetite for NHL hockey. The team inherited a new building in the Delta Center which was constructed in 1991. Having been built for hockey along with basketball and other events, the arena will hold 14,000 seats for a hockey game not including luxury boxes.

In a smart move, Ryan Smith gave all Utah Jazz season ticket holders priority access to the Utah NHL teams seats as he is continuing to build his base as a new NHL owner.

It was clear by the NHL that they could no longer play at Arizona State University's Mullett Arena for another five seasons which was explained by Gary Bettman during an interview with the NHL Network. The plan became unfeasible along with displeasure from the NHLPA executive Marty Walsh and multiple owners in the NHL.

As the Utah hockey team builds out it's new marketing and season tickets, it's expected to play next season and potentially may not have a name as Ryan Smith is taking his time on selecting the new brand name. One contingence of the sale is that he was not allowed to take the Coyotes franchise trademarks and merchandise.

Source: Blades of Steel - Utah's new NHL team already outselling the Coyotes