Delta Center is beginning a major renovation this summer.
Smith Entertainment Group announced Wednesday that it has started a multi-phase process to transform the downtown arena into a dual-sport, “state-of-the-art” venue for Utah Hockey Club and the Utah Jazz.
A new riser system is being installed in the building’s lower bowl this summer to improve sightlines for both hockey and basketball fans. Construction will also begin on a new 450-stall parking structure.
The general timeline for completion of the project is three summers (during the NHL and NBA offseasons), but SEG said it’s realistic about unknown factors that could affect that finish date.
“The goal has been to get ready and take advantage of as much of this offseason as possible. When the games start for both NHL and NBA seasons, our goal is that we will have the work that we anticipate to do this year, we‘ll have that work done,” said Jim Olson, who is president of the Utah Jazz and executive representing SEG on all facilities projects.
(SEG) This April 2025 rendering shows what the Delta Center's lower bowl will look like after renovations at the arena are complete.
The 2025 offseason construction will include the implementation of a new seating system that maintains up-close viewing for NBA games while also providing a full-view experience for NHL games.
Some professional sports arenas that host basketball and hockey are designed to put the NHL first, which can put more distance between NBA fans and the court. SEG said it is avoiding that by creating the first retractable seating system. It will provide a nearly 12-foot variance in elevation between rink and court end lines for optimal viewing for both sports’ games.
“We‘re really maintaining the basketball sightlines, maintaining the basketball bowl. You’re really not going to feel a change in the basketball experience,” said Lawrence Lippold, lead project architect, SCI Architects. “But we will have a premium experience for hockey, as well, packing in the fans close to the action.”
For NHL fans, the plan is to have every seat in the lower bowl set with a complete view of the ice at the start of the 2025-26 season. The updated hockey configuration will also add space behind the nets and around the event tunnels on the north and south sides of the lower bowl. That will improve access to seating behind the boards.
(SEG) Work has begun at Delta Center to improve the arena's sightlines for hockey fans. This rendering shows the different slopes in the lower bowl for each sport.
For the NBA games, the riser system will have 29 rows of retractable seats. Those will extend over 28 feet from the Level 3 concourse down to the court behind each baseline. The risers will ensure Delta Center keeps its known steep slope that lends to a strong fan experience for the Jazz. SEG contracted with Michigan-based StageRight for the retractable seating system.
Seating capacity for hockey will increase from 11,131 to 17,000 when all of the renovations are done. Every seat in the upper and lower bowls will have full views of both nets. The capacity for basketball will increase from 18,206 to 19,000 seats.
SEG will elongate the bowl and raise its floor to make room for the riser system and a new ice floor slab. The bowl will be lengthened by approximately 12 feet at each end and the floor will be raised by 2 feet. This will help sightlines around the arena and prepare the arena for future upper-bowl renovations, too.
(SEG) This April 2025 rendering shows what the Delta Center's lower bowl will look like after renovations at the arena are complete.
“It is both sports first equally, where other [arenas] you feel like basketball is being accommodated,” Lippold said
Some other infrastructural updates include new premium spaces, restroom capacity increasing by 12% and four new dehumidifiers for better ice conditions. SEG will also begin the building of a 450-stall parking structure (designed by Walter P. Moore) that will be finished in a future phase of construction.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Construction in progress to renovate the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.
Interior and exterior construction will continue during future NHL and NBA offseasons. Eventually, an east-facing main entrance and plaza will be built. The existing plaza and concourses will be redesigned. Upper-bowl seating will be remodeled, too.
“We are excited for the challenge as we kick off this never-before-done renovation project. This transformation will create the most compelling, welcoming, and exciting experience for hockey fans, while also allowing us to maintain the steep vertical seating for basketball that has made Delta Center such a dynamic venue with its loud atmosphere that energizes our players night after night,” Ryan and Ashley Smith, co-founders of SEG and owners of Delta Center, said in a statement.
