As one who plays hockey and grew up in Utah, this move by the NHL is super exciting. I currently live in CO so the Avs will always be my team, but growing up in Utah and not having the support for hockey, it's great to see the game grow.

This whole thing came together very quickly and a lot of things had to come together to make this happen. Bateman gave a lot of credit to Ryan and Ashley for their role in making this happen. He listed off what it would take to make a move like this to happen and said Utah checks all the boxes. It was funny when Bateman got a introduced and got a positive reaction, he said that's not the usual reaction he's used to and that it will likely change as time goes on.

Initially Ryan thought that they would build a new arena south of Salt Lake, but realized that keeping the location in downtown was the right move. They want to revitalize downtown and this is an opportunity to do that and that is why they are opting to upgrade the Delta Center vs. building a new arena.

I believe someone from the 12 apostles was in attendance along with Danny Ainge and all local leaders. The support is there and it looks like fans are ready for hockey in Utah. Exciting times for the game of hockey!