Delta Center's obstructed seats are nothing new for NHL franchise

The Utah Hockey Club will embark on its inaugural campaign in Salt Lake City next week.

But fans are already expressing their frustration over the gameday experience at the Delta Center, posting photos and videos on X of upper-level seats from preseason games that do not have a complete view of the ice.

From the visuals, depending on where one is sitting, portions of the near-side boards fall behind the concrete ledge of the front-row upper deck seats.

The Delta Center, built in 1991, primarily served as the home of the Utah Jazz basketball team. Given that an NBA court is only 94 by 50 feet, compared to the 200-by-85 feet dimensions of an NHL rink, it's fair to say the arena was not built with hockey in mind.

Utah owner Ryan Smith announced in early July that the Delta Center will undergo significant renovations starting next year and will be completed in late 2027. These renovations will include demolishing and rebuilding the North and South end seats to accommodate the angles required for hockey seating.

Believe it or not, this is not the first time this NHL franchise has dealt with view restrictions in a basketball-specific arena.

When the Phoenix Coyotes — sold to Smith and moved to Utah in April — arrived in Arizona in 1996, they played at what was then called America West Arena (now the Footprint Center).

It was built specifically to be the home of the Phoenix Suns, and, therefore, several thousand seats on one end were located directly above the goal when the ice was retro-fitted for the available space. Thus, nearly a third of the ice was not viewable, and home seating capacity was significantly decreased.

Instead of renovating the arena like Smith, the Coyotes were forced to depart for a hockey-specific arena in nearby Glendale in late 2003.

Utah will be a brand new era for the franchise, but for now, fans will have to deal with slight inconveniences until ownership is able to complete vital readjustments to its now even more multi-purpose arena.