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SALT LAKE CITY — Skiing isn't the only big sporting event going on this weekend in Utah. A youth hockey tournament involving 50 teams from 9 states are in the Salt Lake Valley.
The sheer number of skating rinks in Utah is one reason that the Grizz Cup Youth Hockey Tournament hosts teams from as far away as Oregon.
Before the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, Utah had three ice rinks in the whole state. Now Utah has 17 rinks, showing the explosion in popularity of ice sports. Yet Grizz Cup organizers has to turn away 30 teams — the first time they've had to turn away teams in the organizations 8-year history — simply because there's isn't enough ice time at rinks to accommodate interest.
"It's getting there. The first tournament, when I got involved in the Grizz Cup, I think we only had 20 teams. So, in the last 6 years we've gone from 20 to 50," said Tournament Director Chris Hendry.
Parents and players are excited about the tournament. In fact, ask anyone involved with the Grizz Cup and they'll tell you it's one of the better tournaments in the country, but it's not just because of the quality of hockey.
"We hear very commonly from the teams that come here that they are blown away by our venues," said Jr. Grizzlies Board Member Nate Hill.
Hill said it's difficult to find so many ice rinks centrally located anywhere else in the West, so it's tough to find places that can host the 900 hockey players in the tournament and their families. But Utah fits the bill.
"I attribute that to the Olympics and legacy venues leftover like the Maverik Center and Steiner and the Peaks down in Provo. We just have some world class facilities here," he said.
The tournament will use five different facilities this year, which translates into good business for the venues as well as local hotels and restaurants.
Hendry said that he's hearing some of the teams want to do a little exploring in the valley after their games.
"Park City has been a big question from a lot of teams. The Arizona kids have never been up here in the snow, so it's pretty awesome," Hendry said.
It's just another example of Salt Lake's Olympic Legacy here. In fact, some Utah players started getting into the sport because they saw a few games during the 2002 Olympics.
"My kids saw hockey, a couple of games here, Hill said. "They started playing in Provo, and man, they love it!"
