These prices which include water at $2.00, popcorn at $3 and nachos at $3 are welcome news for all NHL fans who will attend the Utah games. It's clear that Utah owner Ryan Smith is doing all what he can to attract people to his venue by making prices reasonable and understanding that North America does not have extra money to go to as many games as they'd like these days.
It's likely these concession prices will remain for the foreseeable future as he wants to continue to build his fan base and to show the league, but he means business in that he wants to be seen as successful right out of the gate.
It's been a whirlwind summer for Smith Entertainment Group as they have rushed at breakneck speed to have this hockey team ready for this season. Their journey began after Gary Bettman approached them to see if they could make a hybrid sale between Arizona Coyotes former owner Alex Murello, the league and the Smith group. In one of the quickest sales in history, the Coyotes operations were transferred to Utah.
They have done some incredible work in a very short order and have long range plans renovations to the Delta Center which they will make it more accommodating for hockey and improve the on-ice product as the team had stockpiled many draft picks and has large amounts of capital and cap space.
It's unlikely other teams will follow suit as many established teams have no qualms in having their fanbase pay top dollar for the tickets and for the concessions as the rinks are full.
It's safe to say it will be a fascinating first season for Utah and many across the NHL will be watching to see how the market reacts and the rest of the NHL.
POLL | ||
Do you think other teams in the NHL will adopt similar prices as the Utah Hockey Club's home games consessions? | ||
Yes | 13 | 27.1 % |
No | 35 | 72.9 % |
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