Utah Grizzlies announce move to New Jersey in 2026

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Grizzlies officially have a new home after announcing the team's sale to Pro Hockey Partners in July.

The team will relocate to Trenton, New Jersey, playing at CURE Insurance Arena, the former home of the Trenton Titans, starting with the 2026-2027 ECHL season.

The Utah Grizzlies began as a member of the now-defunct International Hockey League in 1995 and have called West Valley's Maverik Center, formerly the E Center, home since 1997.

The team moved to the American Hockey League in 2001, and the original franchise was actually sold to Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in 2005. David Elmore and Donna Tuttle bought the Utah Grizzlies' identity rights and moved an ECHL team to Utah to keep the brand alive.

The Grizzlies cited the death of Elmore in 2023 and the declining health of Tuttle as reasons to "explore the sale of the team" on June 22, which they acknowledged at the time was a "path that could ultimately lead to the relocation of the franchise."

West Valley City leaders voted unanimously on July 23 to authorize a proposed sale to Pro Hockey Partners, which included relocation as part of the deal.

Trenton mayor Dan Benson said in July that he was working to bring an ECHL franchise back to the city after the Titans ceased operations in 2013, following 14 years of NHL affiliation between the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils.

The Grizzlies will open their final ECHL season in Utah on Oct. 17 in South Carolina, before returning home for the home opener on Oct. 25.

Professional hockey will continue in Utah even after the Grizzlies leave, thanks to the Mammoth, who will enter the 2025-26 NHL season without an ECHL affiliate after the Allen Americans returned to the Ottawa Senators. Utah's minor league pipeline will travel solely through the AHL's Tucson Roadrunners for the time being.

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