Utah's New Hockey Team Shattered A Beer Sales Record On Tuesday Night (Thanks To Chicago Fans)
Salt Lake City Tribune - If people chugging beers out of their shoes by the third period did not show that Utahns have embraced their new NHL team, the Delta Center has the numbers to back it up.
Utah Hockey Club beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 to earn the franchise’s first win in Tuesday’s home opener.
“That building was special,” said forward Dylan Guenther, who scored the first-ever Utah goal. “That was a ton of fun to play in front of that crowd.”
But history was made beyond the ice.
Delta Center had a record-breaking demand for beverages from the hockey audience. The arena did $120,000 in beer sales alone, which is more than any NBA or NHL event it has hosted, Smith Entertainment Group said.
Jordie blogged the 3 guys pounding beers out of their shoes earlier today, but this news came along later in the afternoon.
Tuesday night the Utah Hockey Club's (worst name ever by the way) home opener proved that Utahns are ready to embrace the NHL with open arms
Forget polite applause and sipping politely on soda. This was a crowd that roared, chanted, and apparently mortgaged their houses to keep the beer flowing. Delta Center reporting a staggering $120,000 in beer sales was something I don't think anybody could have seen coming.
"We knew Utah fans were excited," said a bewildered Delta Center spokesperson, "but this is insane! We haven't seen this kind of enthusiasm for alcohol since… well, ever."
Until you factor in that they were playing the Blackhawks.
Shrug it off or call me crazy, but I've been to a Phoenix Coyote's game in an absolute dump of an arena when the Blackhawks were visiting and it felt like we were on Madison St. at the United Center. The place was packed with Chief Blackhawk jerseys, and they also ran out of those disgusting frozen Margarita's out of a hose thing the vendors sell walking around the arena that night.
And I was at Fenway the weekend the Cubs last visited Boston to play, where Chicagoans drank Fenway Park dry of Jameson. And in Cleveland for the World Series where Cubs fans once again drank the stadium out of Jameson.
I'm not saying other cities residents don't drink. This isn't me bragging about Chicago being able to drink other cities under the table. (I'm not even from here). This is me saying this city treats drinking like an Olympic sport. The women shoot whiskey just as much the guys do here. It's wild. So although I don't think Chicago took over Salt Lake City last night- I don't think it's crazy to envision a good amount of them making the hour flight there to watch their hockey team play, now that they can't catch them in Phoenix.
Also - there is a shockingly huge amount of Chicago transplants in Arizona. Not as many New Yorkers as there are in Florida, but close.
I'm also not knocking Mormons (best play I've ever seen, by the way), but the Latter Day Saints I know aren't even "allowed" to drink coffee, never mind booze.
I would love nothing more than to get proved wrong, and learn that beer lovers in Utah now have a place they can unite on a regular basis and get plastered together, (while watching hockey). That'd be a win for the good guys.
Either way, respect to all in attendance last night. $120,000 in beer sales is fucking impressive. Even at $15 a pop.
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I'm no math wiz, but that's 8,000 beers.
Nobody has to be more relieved than the arena's concessions rights holders. With 66% of the state being Mormon, they had to be nervous if it was going to be a beer and hot dog crowd they'd be seeing come out, or a water and popcorn one.
Safe to say from all the videos on twitter these people love their cold ones.