Utah Hockey Club

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'Holy cow. What's going on in Utah?' Inside the Hockey Club's plan for long-term success

Here's how the franchise aims to give fans a unique experience at the arena -- and achieve on-ice success -- in order to create generational fandom.

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Inside the Utah Hockey Club's plan for long-term success​

There are two versions of Ryan Smith. There's the public-facing 40-something billionaire tech mogul who answers questions in a way that can be direct, earnest and open to admitting he might not have the right answer ... or an answer at all.

That's the version most people see. But there's also another version of Smith that's unapologetically Utahn. That version comes out in the way he talks about Salt Lake City, the state of Utah and the preconceived beliefs many people have about a place that they've likely never visited.

While the first version of Smith is the reason the Utah Hockey Club exists, it's the second version that is hell-bent on ensuring that the franchise is going to thrive in the most Utah way possible.

"I put everything in Utah. They said we couldn't build tech here, and we'd have to move to the Bay Area," Smith said. "We couldn't get venture funding here. We couldn't IPO a company from here. We couldn't sell. We proved every single person wrong.

"Then I think that people started believing, 'Holy cow. What's going on in Utah?' That's incredibly gratifying when you're fighting for a bigger cause."

This is the mission facing the Utah Hockey Club when it comes to achieving success long term. While the UHC is a new venture, the team relocated from Arizona where they were the Coyotes. Before that, they were the original Winnipeg Jets, relocating to the desert in 1996.

The club is trying to prove that Salt Lake City and Utah as a whole can support the NHL. It's trying to prove that it can make hockey a staple, just like the Utah Jazz have been doing in the NBA for several decades.

Perhaps the most important point the Utah Hockey Club could make is that as Salt Lake City keeps growing, so could the city's professional sports landscape.

"Utahns especially want to show they are more than a flyover state," said Josh Furlong, a broadcaster and the sports director for KSL. "They recognize they are not going to be Los Angeles, Seattle or New York. They want to showcase what Utah has to offer. You have a rabid fan base that will support your team. I think you have a bunch of people who want to showcase that. I don't know if it is some type of FOMO situation where they feel like they're not being included. But they want to be in that mix among the best places.

"You want people to feel what you see. You have this beautiful landscape, friendly people and a great atmosphere for sports culture."

"Utah! Getting bigger and better. Utah! Always leading the way. New technology is here. Growing faster each year. This is the place!"

Those are lyrics from "Utah ... This Is The Place." Written in 1996, it later became the state song in 2003. At the time of the song's creation, Utah was on the verge of announcing itself to more of the world, using sports and entertainment as a mechanism.

The Jazz reached three straight Western Conference finals from 1996 through 1998, with two NBA Finals appearances. Salt Lake City received international exposure during the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In 2005, the University of Utah was the first school to have the No. 1 picks in both the NBA and NFL drafts in the same year, with Andrew Bogut and Alex Smith. The state's fortune was also extended to film in 2004 when a few graduates of BYU's film school made the coming of age cult classic "Napoleon Dynamite."

Decades later, it appears Utah could once again be following a similar path, but with more to gain.

Utah Hockey Club president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong didn't quote the lyrics from the state song when asked about the future. But his words resemble a similar sentiment when he mentions Utah having the nation's No. 3 economy and the youngest state based on median age (30.7 years old).

"It's a unique moment in time where we're building something new from the ground up and we get to do it with everybody here," Armstrong said. "So that is why we see a successful and thriving future. It's only continuing to grow that outpaces most cities in North America, and we think that's a great opportunity for a new sports franchise."

The history of sports fandom in Utah began with major college programs BYU and the University of Utah establishing athletic programs. Smaller schools such as Southern Utah, Utah State, Utah Valley and Weber State have also built followings in various sports.

Professional sports came on the scene in 1979 when the Jazz relocated from New Orleans and eventually became one of the NBA's most successful franchises throughout the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.

MLS came to the area in 2004 with Real Salt Lake, which averages 20,291 fans per game, and extends to the Utah Royals of the NWSL, a team that was revived in 2024. The Royals' first game drew 20,370 fans which set a state record for the most fans at a women's sporting event.
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Just sayin': An interesting story on the Utah Hockey Club.