It’s been an exciting time for the state of Utah with the Utah hockey team coming into form, however, the new Delta Center seat layout was revealed, and it’s awkward.

It’s clear this building was not designed for hockey as many seats are not available to sit in as the rink eats up tons of real estate. Many fans will not be able to bang on the glass behind the goaltenders as the seats are basically vertical.

Utah owner Ryan Smith explained that work needs to be done to the facility as roughly 7000 seats will not be available to watch the games for year one.

The city of Salt Lake along with Smith and the state are working on a new plan to revitalize Salt Lake city’s downtown which will incorporate the Utah hockey club along with the NBA Utah Jazz. Smith plans to remodel the delta centre to accommodate both NBA and NHL games and having a proposed Plaza, hotel an residential high rises that will be two blocks to the east of the arena.

Many have ridiculed and tried to compare this to the former home of the Arizona Coyotes and as far as I’m concerned the Delta Center is by far a better facility compared to Mullett arena even though major work is required to make it a great hockey venue.

In the long run Smith and his ownership group intend to make this work give the fans of Salt Lake a great venue to watch hockey. As this was a rushed transaction, the team is working at breakneck speed to get the team operational and on the ice by the upcoming season.