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Utah’s beer-loving hockey fans bought a record amount of brews at Delta Center

Hockey fans downed a record number of beers during Utah’s inaugural NHL game at the Delta Center against the Chicago Blackhawks in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, October. 8, 2024.
Francisco Kjolseth
/
The Salt Lake Tribune
Hockey fans downed a record number of beers during Utah’s inaugural NHL game at the Delta Center against the Chicago Blackhawks in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, October. 8, 2024.

Utah Hockey Club beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 in Tuesday’s home opener, apparently giving fans plenty of reasons to celebrate.

If people chugging beers out of their shoes by the third period did not show that Utahns have embraced their new NHL team, the Delta Center has the numbers to back it up.

Utah Hockey Club beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 to earn the franchise’s first win in Tuesday’s home opener.

“That building was special,” said forward Dylan Guenther, who scored the first-ever Utah goal. “That was a ton of fun to play in front of that crowd.”

But history was made beyond the ice.

Delta Center had a record-breaking demand for beverages from the hockey audience. The arena did $120,000 in beer sales alone, which is more than any NBA or NHL event it has hosted, Smith Entertainment Group said.

Beer prices were slightly higher for the Hockey Club’s opening night. A Michelob Ultra went for $13 at the Utah Jazz’s preseason game on Monday, but sold for $15 at Utah HC’s game on Tuesday. Even at $15 a pop, that would be 8,000 cans sold Tuesday night.

Utah Hockey Club had a packed — and lively — crowd to cheer it on to victory. Delta Center sold out of its 11,131 full-view tickets. The game’s final attendance was 16,020 with the use of single-goal view seating in the upper bowl.

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.