Utah LOSING Grizzlies team, because of NHL Mammoth?

Utah LOSING Grizzlies team, because of NHL Mammoth?

Here’s Brody Brazil. Let me start off by admitting to a mistake that I used to make. Now, this was during the time of the Arizona Coyotes likely turning into the Utah Hockey Club, which happened, and now eventually, as we know them, the Utah Mammoth for this upcoming season, but during the process, I said this on more than one occasion, that Utah would be getting its first taste of professional hockey and that pro hockey is coming to Salt Lake City. That was quickly corrected. That was obviously wrong because the Utah Grizzlies have existed for multiple decades in the ECHL playing in the Salt Lake City area. But now the Grizzlies, because of the Mammoth, might be going extinct. There also are some external factors like just the sale of the team that was maybe inevitable, but it does seem like they’ll be leaving the market in large part because of the existence of the Utah Mammoth. At least that’s the way I’m interpreting this. We’ll get into some coverage from Salt Lake City of exactly what’s going on. But first, let me show you where the Grizzlies have called home for all these years. This is the Maverick Center. It was built for the last Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. It’s obviously going to be used for the upcoming next Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City. Great venue. It’s got an upper level, a lower level, some suites. It’s fully functional for an ECHL team. Like we call them hockey barns. That is not a barn. That is a very nice building for an ECHL team. So, they’ve been established, they’ve been around, they’ve had a home, they haven’t bounced around. There’s been some consistency for the Grizzlies in this market. We pick up coverage here from KSL Television in Salt Lake City. Their report says the Grizzlies, a staple of Utah hockey since 1995, are on the cusp of departure following this season. The Elmore Sports Group, which has owned the team since 2005, initiated sale discussions after the passing of founder Dave Elmore in 2023 and amid co-owner Donna Donna Tuttles health challenges. Sources indicate a potential buyer group eyeing a move to Trenton, New Jersey, pending ECHL approval and West Valley City approval. Now, that’s twofold because the league would have to realign maybe teams and divisions. as a team moving from Utah to New Jersey. That’s not in proximity. That is a huge move that’s going to require some league restructuring and again realignment of these teams and divisions. But the other part is that West Valley City, they also have an ownership stake in the hockey team. So it gets a little bit more complicated here. This relocation would end nearly 30 years of Grizzlies hockey at the Maverick Center, which West Valley City also owns. Fans who have packed the arena for the Kelly Cup pursuits and community events now face the end of an era with memories of past glory such as the team’s AHL days from 2001 to 2005 fading into the shadow of relocation marking just another team that once was. And again, their AHL existence, their ECHL existence, just the fact that the Grizzlies have been around for this long is a big deal to hockey fans in Salt Lake City. And granted, you just got an NHL team, but also seeing this go away must take a certain toll if you really care about hockey in this region. The timing of this move couldn’t be more heartbreaking and confusing. According to KSL television, I disagree with a little bit of that. I’ll explain in just a second. Utah is in the midst of a hockey renaissance fueled by the arrival of the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, who burst onto the scene as an expansion franchise. Well, not really. For the 2024-25 season, I think Coyotes fans would take offense to that. Technically, the Coyotes exist, but are dormant, and this is whatever. It’s complicated, but it’s all the Coyotes players, and it was more of a relocation than an actual expansion. But I digress. The Mammoth have ignited statewide passion, drawing sellout crowds at the Delta Center, injecting fresh energy into hockey. All right, let’s get to some takeaways here. We can talk about the sale of the Grizzlies being inevitable. Like the sale of the team might have been separate because of the passing of some owners and just the way business works, right? Like you don’t necessarily hold on to owning a hockey team forever. If the previous owners had bought in in 2005 and we’re here at 2025, yeah, maybe every 20 years there is some changeover. But I do think that the sale of this team and maybe the relocation of this team is likely connected to the NHL’s arrival because is there really room for two? And I’m not saying Salt Lake City isn’t a big enough market to support an NHL team and an ECHL team, but if the ECHL exists and now the NHL completely overshadows it, like that’s the draw. That’s the new hot ticket in town. Anybody that just wanted to go watch hockey, be honest. Now, I know ticket prices are much cheaper for the ECHL and it’s a much more accessible, familyfriendly environment and experience, but being that the fact that the NHL is brand new in this market, that the minor league team existed before the major league team essentially existed, the National League team existed, it’s hard not to overshadow entirely the Grizzlies existence because of the NHL team. Again, it’s new. It’s in its honeymoon period. Everybody wants to be around the Utah Mammoth and now the Grizzlies are kind of a nice tradition but an old thing. Everybody’s seen this before. So, is there really room for two in a place like Salt Lake City and with the circumstance that the the NHL team is the new hot commodity? I understand there are dual market situations with a major league team and a minor league team. Heck, San Jose is a perfect example, but the NH NHL team was there first and now the AHL team is kind of the complimentary piece to that. So, we’re doing this in reverse and that’s kind of what makes this tough. You would think that if we’re talking about hockey growth in Salt Lake City and the, you know, the the the health of the game and the sport and how many fans are there, you would think that an ECHL team would still be great for hockey growth in Salt Lake City because of the fact that the Mammoth are going to start charging outrageous ticket prices if they start winning games. And now they’re rebuilding Delta Center. I imagine there’s going to be more suites and just more amenities and it’s just going to cost a lot more to go to Mammoth Games over the years. So having this alternative option for fans and families to go watch a Grizzlies game if they just want to get into hockey, you would think, and I don’t know that anybody disagrees with this, but ECHL hockey is still a very good thing to have in your market. It actually helps the Mammoth out more than anybody realizes, but I also want to point this out. Now, the Grizzlies are not the Mammoth’s ECHL affiliate. The Grizzlies are currently the Colorado Avalanch’s ECHL affiliate, but you’d have to think that the Mammoth will eventually want their minor league feeder teams in close proximity, right? So, currently the Tucson Road Runners are the AHL team. And maybe you’d want to have maybe they’ll be in Reno, by the way. That’s a whole separate story with the former owner of the Coyotes. And long story short, you would think eventually the Mammoth want to align this so that their ECHL team and their AHL team are close by for proximity sec sake in terms of getting players and moving them. And when they need to call them up or they need to send them down, it’s a quick trip, but eventually the Mammoth are going to want like an ECL team, maybe in their own market. So maybe they don’t mind this as much going away because maybe eventually they’ll put their own ECHL team back at the Maverick Center. Does that make sense? Like they they might take this as an opportunity to get the clean slate to to reinstall that ECHL team. I truly think that right now, as much as I say there might not be room for two, if you reenter an AHL team or sorry, an ECHL team over time, that might be this the smart strategy move in terms of the mammoth. You will want this eventually, but it seems like right now the Grizzlies could be going away. And I I want to just readress this what I said at the start of the video. Yeah, I think it’s largely because of the arrival of the NHL team. And how do you how do you run this business successfully? Selling tickets, selling merchandise, trying to generate excitement. How do you compete? And it’s not even the same ownership, right? Like these are two entirely different entities. The the Mammoth don’t own the Grizzlies, don’t have anything to do with the Grizzlies. They’re not working in synergy here. They’re literally kind of competing against each other. How is this supposed to win out over the NHL? So, kind of unfortunate, kind of predictable. I think anybody who looked at this situation could see it coming and the Grizzlies might be gone after the end of this season. Let me know what you think about all this in the comments section below. Also, thumbs up down below. It helps me, the video, and the channel. Check out the membersonly section. I’m doing a little bit more over there. 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The Grizzlies, a staple of Utah hockey since 1995, are on the cusp of departure following this season. The Elmore Sports Group, which has owned the team since 2005, initiated sale discussions after the passing of founder Dave Elmore in 2023 and amid co-owner Donna Tuttle’s health challenges. Sources indicate a potential buyer group eyeing a move to Trenton NJ, pending ECHL approval and West Valley City approval.

This relocation would end nearly 30 years of Grizzlies hockey at the Maverick Center, which West Valley City also owns. Fans who have packed the arena for the Kelly Cup pursuits and community events now face the end of an era, with memories of past glories, such as the team’s AHL days from 2001 to 2005, fading into the shadow of relocation, marking just another team that once was.

The timing of this move couldn’t be more heartbreaking and confusing. Utah is in the midst of a hockey renaissance fueled by the arrival of the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, who burst onto the scene as an expansion franchise for the 2024-25 season. The Mammoth have ignited statewide passion, drawing sellout crowds at the Delta Center, injecting fresh energy into hockey.

Read More: https://kslsports.com/utah-grizzlies/grizzlies-coach-impending-sale/552844

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