04/18/24 05:14:00
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04/18 17:12 CDT NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will have a name
starting with Utah
NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will have a name starting with
Utah
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
The NHL team moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City will be known as Utah, at
least initially, until a long-term name is determined.
"We'll start with Utah on the jersey and we'll figure out the logo and
everything else and what it is that we are," new owner Ryan Smith told The
Associated Press. "We're going to be Utah either way. We have the first part of
the name. We don't have the last."
Smith Entertainment Group, which bought the franchise formerly known as the
Coyotes in a deal unanimously approved Thursday by the league's Board of
Governors, has already contracted ad agency Doubleday & Cartwright for
rebranding efforts. Former owner Alex Meruelo keeps the Coyotes name and has
the chance to reactivate the franchise if he's able to build an arena.
The short timeline of relocating the club could mean it has a placeholder name
for the first season, like the Professional Women's Hockey League did for year
one or Washington's NFL team had in 2020 and '21 before becoming the Commanders.
"It'll be Utah something, obviously," Smith said. "It's really important that
we're not saying, ?Hey, this has to be ready by the fall,' especially when it's
going to be Utah something. I think both the league feels better and we feel
better to just run the process and then we'll drop it when we drop it."
While working on that process, Smith's first priority is physically moving
players and staff to Utah and getting them set up in the state.
"There's a good roster and a lot of young talent and we've got to onboard those
people into Smith Entertainment Group and show them what that means and what
that's like," Smith said. "I think that's a good opportunity for us and
introduce them to the state of Utah and also bring the community together to
receive them."
Then it'll be "full speed ahead" with the infrastructure, including potential
renovations to Delta Center, home of the NBA's Utah Jazz also owned by SEG,
which has 12,000 unobstructed view seats for hockey. The plan is to expand that
number to roughly 17,500.
"We want to actually use our arena and really spend time creating the best
dual-sport arena that exists out there because we want to keep people as close
as we possibly can or as vertical as we possibly can to watch both games,"
Smith said. "It's super fun and challenging, but we're going to do it."
It's also a challenge to make Utah a hockey market, though 17 sheets of ice
already in place and a youth hockey program give ownership a head start. Smith
plans to build more rinks to make it easier for people of all ages to play the
sport.
Former NHL player Ken Sabourin, who played in the minors for the Salt Lake
Golden Eagles of the International Hockey League from 1987-91 and then again in
'92-93, raves about the city but thinks success will be determined by how the
team plays.
"If they put a winning product out there, it's going to help, obviously, and
maybe (Smith's group is) dedicated to do that," Sabourin said Thursday. "It's a
good hockey market, it's a good sports market --- there's no doubt about it. I
think they have the fans. It's whether they'll come out or not. They'll watch
it for sure. It'll be not a problem on TV. The first year in the building I'm
sure it won't be an issue no matter how good they are."
Smith, who can skate a little and played mostly roller hockey, isn't worried
about that. He points to the sold out NCAA Tournament men's basketball games at
Delta Center as evidence that fans will fill the building to watch NHL hockey.
"The one thing I do know about Utah is people show up," he said. "It's just
different here. We've got 291 straight sellout games at the Delta Center (for
the Jazz). I think every concert that's come to town has sold out. It's just
what we do. We show up, and I have a lot of faith in the people in Utah."
That faith was rewarded right away, as Smith said the organization had received
6,000 season-ticket deposits in two hours after the sale was announced.
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