"The Delta Center will have a new front door. It will be facing directly east."
Ryan Smith said that in mid-October while showing the next phase of Smith Entertainment Group's downtown district, according to KSL Sports. The renderings show a walkway lined with restaurants and shops running from City Creek to that new entrance. That's years away. Even so, the season now underway already works out best for Jazz and Mammoth fans who come from the east: by train, on foot, and after dinner on Main Street. Below is how this season's parking, fare and food changes add up, and what changes once construction starts in 2027.
The new garage isn't for most of the crowd
The new piece of the arena you can see from the street is the SME Parking Garage along 400 West. It has been under construction since summer 2025 and is now finished. The Deseret News reported in September that its 439 spaces are for season ticket holders and fans in premium seats. If you buy a single upper-bowl ticket for a Tuesday game, you can't park there.
For everyone else, parking is in the surrounding lots. The Delta Center's parking page lists Park Place at 50 N. 300 W., the Japanese Church of Christ lot at 268 100 S., the Gateway at 75 S. 400 W., Triad Center at 50 S. 300 W., City Creek at 50 E. South Temple, Hyatt House at 300 W. 140 S., Crown Burger at 118 N. 300 W. and West High at 241 N. 300 W. The arena sells Park Place passes game by game through ParkWhiz. The map on that page is dated October 2025 and doesn't show the new garage yet, so check what's available before you leave home.
Your ticket gets you in the door, but not onto TRAX
If you used to take the train to games on a ticket, that has changed. UTA's Event Service page lists Delta Center events from now through April 2027 and says these are not Ticket As Fare events. Fare is sold at station kiosks, with exact cash on buses, or through the Transit app. Up the hill, it's a different story. UTA's Ticket As Fare list says every University of Utah on-campus sporting event in 2026 counts as fare, from Rice-Eccles Stadium to the Huntsman Center.
The train is still the easy way in. UTA sends Delta Center riders to Arena Station on the Green or Blue TRAX lines. Under UTA's Free Fare Zone rules, a TRAX or bus trip that starts and ends inside the zone is free. A trip that crosses the zone line needs proof of payment. If you live farther out, buy fare before the platform gets crowded.
At the door, plan around three rules
The arena's posted policies decide how long you'll stand in line outside:
- No bags or purses. The only exceptions are diaper or medical bags up to 14 by 14 by 6 inches and clutches up to 4 by 6 by 2 inches. Allowed bags are screened at Door 5.
- Digital tickets only. The arena doesn't use paper tickets.
- Doors open 90 minutes before Jazz and Mammoth games.
New this season, Evolv screening systems are installed at every entry point. The arena added them to speed up arrivals. Even so, the time you lose at the door usually comes from a bag, a phone with no ticket loaded, or getting there right at puck drop.
Inside, the menu went local
The second round of arena renovations finished in September. It added eight new food vendors, bringing the arena to 18 Utah restaurants. KSL Sports lists the new vendors as Apollo Burger, Brucie's Berries, Cafe Rio, Chomp Donuts & Coffee, Dangerous Pretzels, Jurassic Taco, Marley's Burgers and R&R BBQ.
The seats changed too. The rebuilt north end adds more than 1,500 full-view seats for Mammoth games, plus terrace seating and two Sky Lounges. The Deseret News reports that official hockey capacity is now 14,111, not counting obstructed-view seats.
If you go to several games, a few programs can save money over the season:
- For Mammoth games, the arena's own release says a black Mammoth HydroJug Gameday Tumbler costs $59.99 at the Team Store and gets $3 soda refills on Level 5A at games all season.
- A free rewards program shared by the Jazz and Mammoth apps opened Oct. 1. You earn points for attending games and events, streaming, and engaging with team content, and you can trade them for purchases, experiences and memorabilia.
- Students at Utah universities can buy $25 Moxie College tickets for both teams' home games, which include access to the Moxie College Club on Level 6. The Smith's Value Ticket program is also back.
Before the game, eat east of the arena
If you're coming by train or walking in from downtown, the restaurants that opened or reopened this year along and around Main Street are the natural place to eat first.
Eva at 317 S. Main St. serves small plates and drinks. White Horse is also on Main Street. Gastronomic SLC's March roundup listed both as back in business after the Main Street fire. Down the block at 331 S. Main St., Bodega and The Rest, the bar downstairs, have new owners and updated spaces, and The Rest has a new food menu. Bodega now runs as a nightclub.
For a slower dinner, Eight Settlers opened a three-floor bar and lounge in the Newhouse Realty Building on Exchange Place, with cocktails and Spanish-influenced food. Brownstone 22 at 22 E. 100 S. fills the historic Utah Commercial and Savings Bank Building, with a dining room, a lounge and a mezzanine. At 110 W. Broadway inside the Peery Hotel, Sushi by Boū serves speakeasy-style omakase, which works if you plan the evening around one booking. For something quicker and meat-free, Old Cuss Cafe on Pierpont Avenue is a vegetarian restaurant and coffee shop.
If you're coming from the west side, HallPass at the Gateway has changed vendors. Gastronomic SLC reported Oct. 1 that Capriotti's and a new barbecue counter, Nice BBQ, have opened in the food hall, and that Hog & Tradition has moved to its own location in West Valley City.
What changes once construction starts
For now, the district exists in renderings. In late September, KSL noted that the wider project hadn't started physically. Here's what happens in 2027, in order, based on KSL's reporting on downtown street closures:
- As early as February 2027: Partial teardown of the Salt Palace Convention Center could begin. The section of 200 West that runs under the Salt Palace in a tunnel will close once work starts. Staging near Abravanel Hall could bring more heavy trucks downtown.
- Starting in March 2027: The city has approved closures for the Temple Square open house, which runs April 5 through Oct. 1, 2027. North Temple will close from Main Street to 200 West, South Temple from Main Street to West Temple, and West Temple from South Temple to 200 North. Organizers expect 22,000 visitors a day.
- During the closures: Lynn Jacobs, the city's transportation director, told KSL he expects more traffic on Victory Road, State Street and 400 South. The city plans to point drivers to 200 South and 300 South.
- Through about 2033: Bill Knowles of the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance told KSL the whole project will likely take five to six years. Everyone involved is aiming to finish before the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Once the project is finished, the district includes a 6,000-seat Live Nation venue planned for 80 to 120 concerts a year, a hotel, an updated Abravanel Hall and a new art museum. More than 400 feet of loading docks on Japantown Street would be replaced with retail, offices, streetscape and murals. The plans no longer include a pedestrian plaza over 300 West. They add new underground entrances to underground parking instead, similar to City Creek Center's. Drivers would enter new parking from below street level, and the front door would face east toward City Creek.
Starting in February, the 200 West tunnel can close. If you already take the Green or Blue Line to Arena Station and eat on Main Street before games, the closure won't change much for you.
If you're thinking about how downtown's next decade might shape your own plans, I'd be glad to talk it through over a Complimentary Market Consultation with Sue Ann Wilkinson. I'm happy to share the local spots and timing that make game night easier.
