SEG to build NHL practice facility on site of Shops at South Town
The Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), owner of the new Utah National Hockey League franchise, has announced that it is buying the Shops at South Town in Sandy and will build the team’s practice and training facility on the 111-acre site. SEG said it expects to complete the facility ahead of the 2025-26 NHL season.
The practice facility will include a minimum of two NHL-standard regulation ice surfaces for the team and the building will also serve as the team’s official offices, an SEG release said.
The facility will also be available for community purposes outside of the NHL franchise’s designated use, including to accommodate community hockey programming and offering ice time for youth and amateur hockey and recreation, SEG said. Community-accessible spaces will include a public entrance, NHL team store, locker rooms, elevated seating around both rinks and other multipurpose spaces for community programming. SEG will release more details about construction plans and the facility’s layout and configuration at a later date.
SEG also said the Shops at South Town will continue as a public shopping mall.
“The city of Sandy could not be more excited to become the home to the new NHL team’s long-term practice facility,” said Mayor Monica Zoltanski of Sandy. “We have worked collaboratively with Smith Entertainment Group for many years and are excited about their expanding presence in our community with one of the world’s premier hockey training facilities in our city.”
SEG said it is working with a variety of local partners to finalize its plans for the NHL team’s practice and training site for the inaugural 2024-25 NHL season while waiting the construction of the Sandy facility. The NHL team will play at Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City beginning this fall.