Utah women’s gymnastics is the only program that has consistently packed the 15,000-seat Huntsman Center over the years.
The No. 5 Red Rocks have seated an average of 12,207 fans per meet this season, giving them one of the best attendance marks in the entire country. That could change, however, since the university announced a proposal to construct a new arena in Salt Lake City, set to replace the 55-year-old Huntsman Center.
Carly Dockendorf, the gymnastics program’s head coach, says the new arena might result in fewer seats being available for passionate Red Rock fans.
“I’m interested and excited to hear more details as things unfold,” Dockendorf said Wednesday. “For us, I want to make sure we get as many fans possible in the seats. Likely, [the new arena] will have reduced seats from where we’re at right now at limited capacity.
“But, we’ll need to make sure we’re able to get all of our fans because we do have 15,000-plus fans. So, we’ll just be curious to see how that all unfolds.”
Even if Utah’s new arena project won’t be opened for several years, Dockendorf will be still sad to see the Huntsman Center be left behind.
“There’s been so much history in there, I mean 10 national championships were won in there,” Dockendorf said. “So, I’m curious to see more details.”
