SALT LAKE CITY — Preparations are underway for the inaugural Utah Hockey Club game Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. But there’s something special for the community before the game starts.
Roads are closed, the stage is almost ready, and the giant puck has dropped outside the Delta Center.
Fans are ready to welcome the Utah Hockey Club ahead of its first official NHL season game.
"It should be a blast to hang out and see what’s going on," said Travis Hodson, who loves watching hockey and is excited to take his family to games.
The festivities start at 4 p.m. with a free outdoor event — featuring a concert with a performance by country star Shaboozey, games, food trucks, DJs, and an interactive fan experience.
READ: No tickets, no problem! How to party for free at the Utah Hockey Club opener
"This is a historic day for Utah and Salt Lake City, and we're excited to welcome hockey. We just want people to enjoy the festivities safely, and if you see anything, say something,” said Brent Weisberg with the Salt Lake City Police Department.
Salt Lake City police officers will be managing traffic, patrolling the area and want people to be safe.
"One of the things that we encourage people to do is remember that if you are involved in an altercation or fight, or if you see something that doesn’t feel right, try to safely separate yourself,” added Weisberg.
Fences are in place, and there are some road closures in place too — South Temple and 100 South between 400 West and 300 West will be partially closed, and 300 West between South Temple and 100 South will be completely closed.
"It doesn’t always make sense to close the road, but in this case when we have a lot of great alternate routes, people can still get around that closure with a fair amount of ease, it makes a lot of sense for just as big of a night this is in Utah sports history,” said John Gleason with Utah Department of Transportation.
After the fan experiences outside, the area around the Delta Center transforms into a watch party, so even people without a ticket can watch the game on the big screen.
"It’s important to me. Sometimes I don’t always have money to go to games and stuff, so just to celebrate with people who are good environment, and cheering loud and just smiling and dancing, the whole 9 yards, it’s fun,” added Hodson.
Because parking can be tricky with lots of people in downtown and road closures too, UTA wants to encourage people to use public transit.
They shared a statement with FOX 13 News:
“Our standard level of service has always worked well for Jazz fans and we are confident that the combination of FrontRunner, bus, and TRAX will get everyone to the game to see the first puck drop. We do encourage fans to plan ahead and catch an earlier bus or train, just in case. And, we are prepared with additional vehicles, as needed. Leave the car at home, skip the parking hassles and take UTA to see Utah HC!”
There’s so much joy around bringing hockey to Utah.
"Oh we’ve been waiting — finally! Now we don’t have to drive to Nevada or somewhere else, we can just stay in the home state of Utah,” added Hodson.
