After dad's request, Smith, SEG to donate $10 million for hockey rinks in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — What started with a simple plea from a father looks like it will end with a $10 million promise to build hockey rinks across Utah.

Last week, Matthew Harayda took to X and used the social media platform to reach out to Ryan Smith, sharing the heartbreak he felt for his son, who simply wanted to skate.

Unfortunately, the Haraydas couldn't find a rink where they could lace up.

"He got super bummed out, kind of over-exaggerated as a five-year-old would," recalled Matthew. "And then my buddy just came over and said, 'Hey, you've got Twitter, like, reach out to Ryan Smith. Just say, are we gonna build some more rinks so we can actually skate around here?'"

"And I said, yeah, what the heck? What have I got to lose?"

Harayda immediately jumped on X and let his fingers fly in a message directly to the owner of the Utah Hockey Club and Utah Jazz.

"Any plans to help the state build more ice rinks? It’s brutal up here in Davis/Weber County," he asked Smith. "Ogden Ice Sheet is always full and Bountiful was closed tonight."

It didn't take long for Smith to respond, replying just a day later that something would happen over the summer and that he believed every Utah city and town should have an ice rink.

Yes, Harayda was shocked.

"...then the next day I'm driving, I get somewhere, I pull up my phone, I got a billion notifications and I see that Ryan Smith responded to my tweet and I immediately screenshot it, sent it to my buddy and said, 'Holy _____! He responded! This is amazing, and his response was amazing."

While summer may still be months away, Smith's rink plans came into focus on Monday when he announced that Smith Entertainment Group is "all in on growing hockey in Utah and doing it fast."

According to Smith, SEG plans on donating up to $500,000 per rink for up to 20 new hockey rinks in locations across the state.

"We’ll have out-of-the-box plans for cities that can partner with entrepreneurs to build," Smith continued. "Utah is the land of entrepreneurs. And we’ll help line up anything else to make this happen."

Although Harayda spoke to FOX 13 News before Smith's surprise plans were released, he's sure ice time for kids will help hockey score as a sport in the Beehive State.

"Getting these young kids introduced on the ice early, getting them to fall in love with it, there's nothing but good things that can come from it."

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