The players’ lounge looks more HGTV than ESPN or TNT — warm hues, hardwood floors, area rug, comfy sectional, plush chairs, plants, books. There is a ping-pong table, and there is long wooden dining table that stretches toward the kitchen, so players can sit together and enjoy what chefs have prepared especially for them.
“We’re in this state-of-the-art, high-performance facility, but the elements where the players aren’t training and recovering feel like a residential environment,” Chris Armstrong said. “The idea is that this feels like an extension of their homes and a place that they want to spend time, even when they don’t have to.”
Mammoth logos are everywhere, and many are, well, mammoth. One incorporates hockey netting in the lettering like a piece of art.
No excuses. Not anymore.
“We’ve talked about how we expect to win,” said captain Clayton Keller, in his second season in Utah after eight in Arizona. “They’ve given us everything we need to succeed and have no distractions. It’s great to have those expectations. That’s what we want.”
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Delta Center has gone through multiple renovations since opening in 1991. When the NHL arrived 18 months ago, the building was designed for basketball and had one of the best atmospheres in the NBA. The Smiths wanted to keep that while creating one of the best atmospheres in the NHL.
It wasn’t going to be easy.
There wasn’t enough space in the lower bowl, so most of the end-zone seats had to be retracted for hockey, and many end-zone seats in the upper bowl had a view of only one goal. Delta Center had 11,131 unobstructed seats for hockey in Utah’s inaugural season.
SEG built infrastructure including the NHL locker rooms in the summer of 2024 and planned for the next phase during the 2024-25 season. The Jazz finished their schedule April 13. The Utah Hockey Club finished its schedule April 15. The next day, demolition began. SEG blew out both end zones and worked from the ground up.