Smith Entertainment Group wants Utah Hockey Club games at Delta Center to “feel like their own world separate from the Jazz”Getty Images
The arrival of Utah Hockey Club “presented the opportunity” for Smith Entertainment Group SVP/Marketing Elaina Pappas to “create another unique sporting experience for the Salt Lake audience,” according to Belle Fraser of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. The Jazz — the other tenant at the Delta Center — already have a “clear brand, identity and standing within the community.” One of SEG’s main goals was to make the Utah Hockey Club games “feel like their own world separate from the Jazz.” Pappas said that the two teams’ audience overlap “is about 25%,” which is “a bit higher than most markets that share NBA and NHL teams.” Accordingly, the fans have been a “big part of shaping what hockey is like at Delta Center.” Pappas: “We really pride ourselves on utilizing Qualtrics, doing surveying, fan experience data.” Fraser noted SEG is “learning on the go” and “making nightly adjustments” to the in-game activations as the hockey club continues to build its identity in its inaugural season. She noted it “comes down to the little things — the warmup playlists and cadence of music throughout the game, prompts for crowd cheers, graphics on the jumbotron, intermission entertainment on the ice and audience-oriented activities throughout the night.” All of these additions have “helped the community connect” to the hockey team and “embrace the rowdy, loud, electric and passionate atmosphere that the NHL brings.” It has also “furthered Delta Center’s reputation as the place to be” in Salt Lake City (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 1/6).
