A line wrapped around Delta Center early one morning last week.
More than 300 Utah Hockey Club season ticket holders were waiting for the arena doors to open at 8 a.m. for the release of the team’s official jerseys.
Between the presale and purchases from the general public at the Team Store, it turned out to be another historic milestone for Utah. Friday was the highest-ever single day sports event sales record at Delta Center, beating the team’s Oct. 8 opening-night numbers by 48%.
“This has been the kind of demand and support we’ve had since day one when we announced the franchise,” Utah HC president Chris Armstrong said. “I think these are all really positive indicators.”
Utah’s first release set records league-wide, too. It was the best-ever NHL regular season single game net merchandise sales total by 29%, according to Utah Hockey Club officials.
The sales total trailed only the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-clinching game at T-Mobile Arena in 2023.
Premade player jerseys were sold out within the hour at Delta Center. The majority of the uniforms for sale were blank; Smith Entertainment Group said it wanted to get jerseys out as soon as possible, and in order for the drop to happen in November instead of February, fewer player versions were made available.
Fans were still able to customize their purchased jerseys with any roster player, though. Customization has since been paused due to high demand.
(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) A new NHL Utah Hockey Club team store takes shape on the top floor of the Delta Center on Tuesday, October. 1, 2024.
Due to the high quantity of custom jersey requests, the team said the black customized jerseys will be shipped out within seven to 10 business days while the white customized jerseys will be shipped out within 10-14 business days.
Friday was a limited-stock drop. Armstrong said there will be a restock in early 2025 which will include more player jerseys as well as kid’s sizing.
“It’s a balance between speed and practicality. The good news is we are going to continue to press — we have lots of kits to remake player jerseys so we’ll be able to catch that up,” Armstrong said. “We’re going to need a little bit of patience which we’ll be grateful for for sure. We’ll make sure everybody gets the players they’re looking for.”
While Utah jerseys on NHLShop.com and NHLShop.ca sold out in 24 hours, the Team Store at Delta Center — as of Nov. 18 — still had some blank inventory available.
Tara Lynn, who got into hockey through her dad and sister, woke up at 5:30 a.m. to get a spot in line for the jersey presale. Lynn opted to customize a blank jersey with Karel Vejmelka’s name and number on it after the goaltender’s 49-save performance against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Lynn was in the first wave of fans welcomed into a swarming team store that was packed with shoppers for the remainder of the day.
“I think it’s super encouraging, especially in Utah. We know we have a huge sports fan base – with BYU and Utah – so it’s really nice to see everyone come out and the community be here,” Lynn said. “You definitely see people wearing former teams that they have liked. I think it’s going to be a lot different and be a lot more exciting with people all with the [Utah] jerseys.”
Scott Jackson, a Utah resident and season ticket holder, said the history of the inaugural jersey — including the patches on the shoulders — was part of the reason he made sure to get one during the in-person presale. It won’t stop him from purchasing next year’s uniforms with the official logo, though.
“Obviously I’ll probably even buy a jersey when they get whatever name they’re gonna get,” Jackson said. “Having the jerseys with all the patches and the names is really going to add a lot more excitement for the players and us as fans.”
Jackson went for a black, Dylan Guenther jersey because the forward scored the first-ever goal for Utah Hockey Club on opening night.
Utahns have shown up for their new NHL team since the franchise was announced in April, and now they have a tangible way to represent their fandom.
“Based on the history and legacy of the way that fans in the community support sports here, we felt really good about that when we took on this project – that Utah would embrace it and embrace it proudly,” Armstrong said.
