Look inside the revamped Delta Center, where there are changes for Utah Jazz and Mammoth fans

Thursday’s Utah Mammoth preseason home opener served two purposes: first, of course, to give local fans their first chance to see the newly christened Mammoth in person. That was a success — the Mammoth won 2-1.

But maybe just as important was the fans’ ability to see the new changes to the Delta Center, as the first phase of the renovations wrapped up just in time for the game. The Delta Center still feels largely familiar to those who have been there before, but there are some big changes to a few areas and small changes to others.

Here’s what to watch for:

Sightlines and end lines

The most notable change to the arena by far comes behind the goals on the end lines in the lower bowl. The walls behind the goal have been pushed back by about 12 feet on either side, which has allowed seats to be placed on a steep angle behind the goals from concourse to ice.

It’s visually quite the sharp angle in person, but fans should know that the angle is about the same as those in the upper bowl. A couple of fans seemed to struggle with the new steeper steps, but most I talked to were very supportive of the new seats because they give a terrific viewpoint on the action up and down the ice. The players also enjoyed having a steep section of fans there to cheer them on.

The final test of these seats will be how they work for basketball games, whether or not they retain good sightlines for that sport. With a moved back wall and higher floor, math would dictate that the angle of those seats had to be shallowed. But we’ll soon see how the arena’s new riser system, which has 29 rows of retractable seats, looks when the Utah Jazz play at the arena.

The majority of seats on the end lines in the upper bowl are still single-goal view only for hockey. The changes improving those views are slated for future offseasons.

The seats along the sidelines are entirely unchanged. But all seats in the arena have a slightly better view because the entire rink floor has been lifted 2 feet. This is especially noticeable when action is stuck in the corners — last year, that was hard to see from some sideline seats, and it’s much less of a problem this season.

Thinner concourses, options new and relocated

The construction team also blew out the back wall between the concourse and arena bowl entirely — previously, just the main entrance had a view of the arena, now, both end lines do.

Moving the walls back 12 feet has made the concourses a bit skinnier in some areas, especially in the corners and ends. For Thursday’s preseason game, it didn’t feel packed, but it also wasn’t a full capacity crowd — it’s something to watch for as bigger events make their way back later in October.

Other changes were made to the concourses as well. Removing the back wall meant removing two concession stands, including the popular Iceberg shakes location. That has now been moved in next to Cubby’s in one of the concourse corners.

Arena bathrooms were redistributed as well. Previously, men’s and women’s restrooms tended to be clustered together; now, they tend to alternate. If you’re a regular Delta Center event attendee in the habit of going to a specific restroom, it’s worth checking to make sure it hasn’t changed.

The arena removed the lower bowl’s main craft beer concession stand in favor of smaller beer kiosks that generally sell cans of domestic beer from refrigerators.

The actual concession restaurants are mostly unchanged, though in some cases, they sell new Jazz or Mammoth-themed food items. Proper Burger in the upper bowl now sells a “Jazz Jam Burger” with pickled onions and blue cheese, for example.

The concourses’ merchandise retail locations are now run by Fanatics, under a new partnership with the Smith Entertainment Group, for both Jazz and Mammoth games. Hockey jerseys run from $150 to $270.

Fans can buy fully stitched jerseys for six players: Logan Cooley, Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Mikhail Sergachev. Getting jerseys for other players will require pressed-on numbers and letters, for an additional fee.

Odds and ends

Other changes to note:

• Signs of all kinds and sizes are now prohibited at the Delta Center. It was a hockey tradition for fans to bring signs to show players during warmups. That is now not allowed. Longtime Jazz fans will remember Dr. Richard Anderson’s signs, chickens, and other gimmicks to try to distract opposing free-throw takers. That is now prohibited. SEG says the change is to “ensure every guest enjoys their experience inside the arena.”

• As construction continues for the teams’ exterior parking lot in the southwest corner of the Delta Center, a pedestrian tunnel has been installed for fans to reach the entrance from the Gateway and other points west.

• The ice has been improved with a dehumidifier, among other changes, which Mammoth General Manager Bill Armstrong felt would make the team faster on the ice than last season. Head coach Andre Tourigny said the ice was “significantly better than what we had in the past” on Thursday.

• On the second-level club floor, the Black Desert Club has shrunk somewhat, but also received a full renovation. There are also additional bathrooms on that floor.

• There’s a new designated rideshare zone at the arena, at the northwest corner of 100 South and 300 West.