SANDY, Utah — Shovels instead of sticks were the tools used Monday as ground was broken on the Utah Hockey Club's new practice facility in Sandy.
On the site of the Shops at South Town mall, every Utahn will now be able to watch the team train, as well as get some ice time of their own.
“This is really something for the community." said team owner Ryan Smith.
The 111-acre facility will be open to all.
“When our guys are off the ice, the community is gonna be on the ice," Smith explained, "and I don't think there's another sport like that where they take over the playing surface.”
The plan is for the entire mall to stay open, and for the training facility to be an extension of the mall. The ice sheets will be built in the southeast corner of the parking lot.
“I'm so happy that the mall will continue to operate," said Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski. "The businesses will continue to operate and they're going to have a shot of economic, just a super blast of economic energy that will be driven by the arrival of the Utah Hockey Club.”
Zoltanski believes the hockey team offers the mall a new game plan for sustainability.
“What makes malls and shopping centers in America successful, those who are resilient that can plan and adapt to new consumer habits, changing business models. And we'll see that here at South Town mall, and I welcome that future.”
Until the new facility is set open in the fall of 2025, the team will practice at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
“Hockey is a community sport and it's a sport that all along has involved the community and allowed the community to to be a part of it," explained Smith Entertainment Group's Jim Olson. "And it's just the hockey culture and it works out great for the entire community.”
