This summer, the Utah Jazz start their 50th anniversary season, and the naming rights for the Delta Center arena go into effect in July 2023.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – Utah is getting the Delta Center back. As part of a long-term partnership, the global airline will take over the naming rights for Utah's best sports and entertainment center in July 2023. This is where the Utah Jazz play and where more than 320 events take place each year.
This deal brings Delta back home. When the arena first opened in 1991, Delta had the naming rights as part of its first sponsorship deal with the NBA team. As part of the long-term deal, Delta will be the Official Airline of the Utah Jazz, in addition to being the team's Official Community Partner. Delta will also have a lot of sponsorship and branding rights with the team, including media, hospitality, and employee engagement extensions.
Delta and the Utah Jazz will keep working together to help community programmes in Utah, where nearly 5,000 Delta employees live, work, and volunteer.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian said, "Today we celebrate a new chapter in the long history between Delta, the Utah Jazz, and the people of Salt Lake City." "The Delta Center's return to Salt Lake City is a sign of continued investment and commitment to the city, and together we will give the city and Jazz fans all over the world the best in sports and entertainment."
Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz and chairman of Smith Entertainment Group, said, "I have so many great memories of the Delta Center from when I was a kid, and I know that a lot of people in Utah and beyond did too, whether they went to watch the Olympics and Paralympic Winter Games, the NBA Finals, concerts, or other amazing events." "We are excited to work with Ed Bastian and the rest of the Delta team to not only give the arena its original name back, but also use the great work Delta is doing to give the people of our state amazing experiences and help show the world how great Utah is."
Delta CEO Ed Bastian and Utah Jazz Owners Ryan and Ashley Smith will hold a joint media event on Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. MT to celebrate their partnership and the upcoming return of the Delta Center. The Utah Jazz will play the Philadelphia 76ers at home that night at 7 p.m. MT.
Delta and the Utah Jazz: A Brief History
Delta has had a long relationship with the Utah Jazz since the arena opened in the early 1990s. During the first few years, the Delta Center hosted many famous events, such as the 1993 NBA All-Star weekend, two NBA Finals, and the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It also hosted figure skating and short track speed skating events at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
Some of the biggest names in entertainment also played at the Delta Center. Garth Brooks, U2, and The Rolling Stones were some of the biggest names to play there.
The name change will start on July 1, 2023, and continue throughout the summer, when the building will still be used for the Salt Lake City Summer League and concerts by Arctic Monkeys, Paramore, and others.
About the Arena, which will soon be called the "Delta Center"
At 301 S. Temple, on the west side of downtown Salt Lake City, the Jazz's 18,206-seat facility hosts more than 320 nights of sports and entertainment events each year, such as NBA games, concerts by world-famous musicians, and other shows. About 1.8 million people attend these events each year.
The $125 million renovation of the state-of-the-art arena was finished in 2017. It now has six upgraded seating levels, solar panels on the roof that generate energy, remodelled locker rooms on the ground floor, and a 12,000-foot atrium with a plaza that has a giant jazz note as its centre.
In October 2022, the venue got new LED technology for its videoboards. It also got its first-ever premium seating area in the upper bowl and a wider range of food options, including many of the best restaurants in the area.
Starting in July 2023, when the Jazz start celebrating their 50th season in the NBA, the rebranding to the Delta Center will become clear all over the arena. The Delta Center logo will be shown prominently on the outside of the building, the lower panels of the center-hung scoreboard, all digital building signage, and as part of the Delta Sky360o Club.
On the basketball court, there will be a big Delta Center logo and a tribute to Larry H. Miller, who started building the building more than 30 years ago and whose family owned the franchise for 35 years.
