The party is about to start.
Utah Hockey Club opens its inaugural season Tuesday night when the Chicago Blackhawks visit Delta Center.
Starting at 2 p.m., the team will host a celebration outside the downtown arena that will include an ESPN broadcast, live interviews, giveaways, a free concert and a watch party for the 8 p.m. game.
“From the day Utah Hockey Club became a reality, Utah has shown up to support and cheer on our team,” team owner Ryan Smith said in a news release. “Today is for the entire community, and we want everyone to be part of this once-in-a-generation, historic moment as we kick off our first-ever NHL season.”
Here’s a schedule for the free event on the plaza.
12:30 p.m. — Team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a news conference that fans are invited to attend.
2 p.m. — ESPN will begin broadcasting from an open-air set outside the arena. Host Steve Levy and analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban will host live pregame, intermission and postgame shows for an opening night triple header that includes St. Louis at Seattle (2:30 p.m.), Boston at Florida (5 p.m.) and Chicago at Utah (8 p.m.).
4 p.m. — Fan festivities, including DJs, free games and hockey activities, will begin. There will be food trucks and a beer garden.
5 p.m. — Utah Hockey Club players will arrive for a special entrance.
5:30 p.m. — Recording artist Shaboozey — singer of the popular country jam “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — will perform on the north end of the plaza near 300 West and South Temple.
6:30 p.m. — Fighter pilots from Hill Air Force Base will conduct a flyover.
8 p.m. — As fans begin to enter the arena, the plaza will turn into a free watch party. The team’s game will be shown on screens on 300 West at the corners of South Temple and 100 South.
