- Smith Entertainment Group is renovating Delta Center's upper bowl for better sightlines, as remodel project enters second year.
- The redesign includes terrace structures and gondolas, enhancing views for sports events.
- Renovations aim to make it the loudest arena, with completion by 2027-2028 season.
SALT LAKE CITY — Smith Entertainment Group is going vertical again as it seeks to solve the Delta Center's pesky sightline challenges, which it believes should also make it "the loudest arena" in sports.
The parent owner of the Utah Jazz and Mammoth unveiled several new renderings in an update on Friday, as construction has picked back up this week.
After renovation work last summer focused on the lower, crews are now focusing on sightline challenges within the arena's upper bowl, creating a "terrace-like" structure on both ends and suspended top-floor "gondolas" — seating over 200 people on each side — that will help make it easier to see all the action during both basketball and hockey games.
"Instead of having something that goes long and back, we've gone extremely vertical. Actually, that view is pretty incredible. I mean, this is double black diamond area," said Ryan Smith, the company's owner, in a video about the project updated on Friday. "We talked a lot about sightlines, and we're excited to launch a new view that we've never had before."
Construction of the north end terrace and gondolas began shortly after the Mammoth saluted their fans as they skated off the ice following their playoff series loss to the Vegas Golden Knights last week. The arena block was quickly fenced off as construction began, moving materials in and out of the building.
Utah … here's what's next for the @DeltaCenter#TusksUp#TakeNotepic.twitter.com/OMU9V0LzCA
— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) May 8, 2026
Those features are expected to be available when the arena reopens in October, along with a new parking structure that has been under construction since last year.
Smith Entertainment Group will also begin renovations to the arena's north side suites in 2026. That is on track to be completed next year, which is also when crews will focus on the building's south end. Using a slightly different design, the upper and lower bowl will be "coming together" on the end where the road team benches are located for an added home arena advantage, Smith said.
That feature is anticipated to be ready for the 2027-2028 season for both teams, as arena renovations wrap up.
"It's going to be loud, and it'll be different," he said. "It's something that ... separates us and makes us the loudest arena to play in sports."
Smith received state and city approval to seek up to $900 million in bonds for the arena overall, though a bill the Utah Legislature approved in 2024, shortly before he acquired assets for what is now the Mammoth. Salt Lake City leaders signed off on an agreement later that year, allowing the company to collect revenue from a 0.5% citywide sales tax increase.
As the arena project ends, all eyes will be on the area outside the arena. Smith Entertainment Group purchased a section of the Salt Palace Convention Center from Salt Lake County last year to help build a new plaza east of the arena.
The company said it is still planning to add a new main entrance at the plaza, which it says will "serve as a gateway to the heart of downtown."
Salt Lake County officials announced last month that they've hired Jacobsen Construction and AECOM Hunt to carry out a massive overhaul of the Salt Palace, which will take place at the same time. More details of the project will be unveiled later this year.
"The creation of the Sports, Entertainment, Culture and Convention District is a generational opportunity to reinvent a vital section of our state's capital city," Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said, at the time. "We are confident this investment will result in a fundamentally reimagined section of downtown serving local residents, area businesses, as well as visitors to downtown Salt Lake."
