The Utah Hockey Club kicked off its inaugural NHL regular season with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in their home opener. Fans at Salt Lake City’s Delta Center celebrated the victory and their new team by setting a new arena record for beer sales. The $120,000 in total sales the highest ever for a single event at the venue.
The Delta Center has been home to the NBA’s Utah Jazz since 1991. It hosted two NBA Finals series in 1997 and 1998, both of which ended in Jazz losses to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls. Despite those high-profile events, beer sales during those games never hit the numbers seen during Utah’s first-ever NHL game.
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Although the arena saw record-breaking sales during its first NHL game, Utah fans drank at a slower pace compared to other professional hockey fanbases.
A study by Time2Play.com looked into how many beers individual fans were drinking at games across the league during the 2022 season. Compared to those rankings, the total of drinks consumed at Salt Lake City on Oct. 8 looks a lot smaller.
With beer prices at the Delta Center averaging $15 per beverage, approximately 8,000 beers were sold during the team’s debut matchup. That means, with 11,131 people reportedly in attendance not counting those in obstructed seats, each Utah fan consumed an average of a little under three quarters of a beer during the contest.
That number is well below the league-leading Toronto Maple Leafs’ average of 3.9 drinks per game, and even behind the last ranked New York Rangers total of 1.8 beers per game.
THE UTAH HOCKEY CLUB PLAYED ITS INAUGURAL NHL REGULAR SEASON GAME THIS WEEK.
FANS CELEBRATED BOTH THE TEAM’S DEBUT-
AND THEIR EVENTUAL 5-2 WIN OVER THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS-
WITH A RECORD BREAKING AMOUNT OF BEERS.
NEVER BEFORE HAS SALT LAKE CITY’S DELTA CENTER SEEN SO MUCH REVENUE FROM BEER SALES DURING A SINGLE EVENT-
TOTALING ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.
NOW, KEEP IN MIND-
THIS IS THE SAME ARENA THE NBA’S UTAH JAZZ HAVE CALLED HOME SINCE 19-91.
EVEN PLAYING TWO NBA FINALS SERIES AT THE VENUE DURING THAT TIME-
BOTH OF WHICH ENDED UP BEING LOSSES TO MICHAEL JORDAN’S BULLS-
WHO PERSONALLY DELIVERED A TITLE CLINCHING SHOT IN FRONT OF JAZZ’S FANS DURING THE 97-98 SEASON.
YOU’D THINK THAT WOULD GET THEM DRINKING.
WELL SEEING THE STATE’S FIRST EVER NHL TEAM TAKING THE ICE CERTAINLY DID-
ALTHOUGH DESPITE SETTING A STADIUM RECORD, THEY DRANK AT A MUCH SLOWER PACE THAN ANY OTHER FANBASE IN THE LEAGUE.
A STUDY BY TIME2PLAY DOT COM LOOKED INTO THE NUMBER OF BEERS A GAME THAT PEOPLE DRANK AT EACH NHL STADIUM.
THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS RANKED FIRST WITH THE AVERAGE FAN CONSUMING 3.9 DRINKS PER CONTEST.
WITH BEER PRICES AT UTAH HOCKEY CLUB GAMES AVERAGING ABOUT 15 DOLLARS-
ABOUT 8,000 OF THE BEVERAGES WERE SOLD DURING THEIR PREMIERE MATCHUP.
MEANING THE AVERAGE DELTA CENTER ATTENDEE AT THIS CONTEST ONLY PUT AWAY ABOUT A SEVENTH OF A BEER-
TRAILING EVEN THE LAST-RANKED 1.8 BREWS THAT NEW YORK RANGERS FANS DRINK EVERY GAME.
JACK AYLMER – STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.
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