Our guide to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City includes information on events, tickets, parking, public transportation, hotels and restaurants, seating, NHL plans and more. Read on to find out how to get the most out of your gameday experience.

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In Salt Lake City, primarily known around the world as the center of the Mormon faith, there’s plenty of room for sports fandom — as fans of the Utah Jazz and the NBA already well know.

Utah is renowned for its ski resorts, some of which are just an hour’s drive from the city center. The University of Utah, located a few miles east of downtown, boasts strong programs in football and men’s basketball, among other sports. And don’t forget that the city hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics, and vestiges of those games can still be found around the city.

Ever-growing and becoming more of a metropolis in recent years, Salt Lake City has proven itself capable of hosting even more big-time sports. That came to fruition in 2024, when the Jazz’s deep-pocketed owner helped engineer the relocation of the former Arizona Coyotes to become the Utah Hockey Club.

The community response to the arrival of the new team was indicative of a fan base hungry for more sports. And between the Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club (which is expected to be given a permanent nickname as soon as the 2025-26 season), the Delta Center is becoming the true epicenter for all things sports in SLC.

And this might only the beginning. Salt Lake City will host the Winter Olympics again in 2034. The Delta Center served as the figure skating venue in 2002, and figures to do again 32 years later — unless a new facility is built to replace it.

While the Utah Hockey Club is the snazzy newcomer, the Jazz remains beloved in these parts. It’s been a while since the franchise enjoyed its John Stockton/Karl Malone-led heyday, but the local fans’ love for the team hasn’t diminished despite some lean seasons.

In 2023, the Delta Center name was restored after the arena went through a series of other corporate sponsors, most recently going by Vivint Arena. Delta Air Lines, which operates a hub in Salt Lake City, had its name on the arena when it opened, and “Delta Center” evokes memories of the Stockton/Malone years.

Looking for Delta Center event tickets? Search events on Ticketmaster.

Getting to the Delta Center

Occupying an entire city block, the Delta Center is just one attraction in a vibrant downtown district in which there’s plenty to see and do (more on that in the section below). The venue is easy to get to as well, as Interstates 15 and 80 meet just west of the area.

If you’ve never been to Salt Lake City, you might find its rather unusual street naming system a little confusing. The center of the street grid is Temple Square, a few blocks east of the arena, so know that if you’re near a Temple Street (there are streets named Temple running both north-south and east-west, adding to the potential confusion for a visitor), you’re close.

If all else fails, just follow the fans walking to the game, and there’ll be plenty of them on city sidewalks as gametime approaches.

Salt Lake City’s ever-expanding TRAX light rail system runs through downtown as well — get off from the Blue or Green lines at the Arena station, on South Temple just north of the venue, or via the Planetarium station on the Blue Line along North 400 West.

The system has a free-fare zone downtown, so if you’re staying in a hotel more than a few blocks away, riding the train for free to an event at the Delta Center is a viable option.

UTA Rail’s FrontRunner commuter train can be used to get to the game from the city’s outskirts as well. Get off at North Temple Bridge and walk two blocks to the arena.

Parking at the Delta Center

As is typical of a downtown arena, parking selection at the Delta Center largely consists of numerous structures and lots in the surrounding blocks. Expect rates to hover at around $20 to get into lots within three blocks of the arena.

The nearby Triad Center office complex and City Creek Center shopping mall offer some of the largest structures. You can view a Delta Center parking map here.

Free and metered parking is also available on the streets near the Delta Center and around downtown for intrepid, bargain-hunting drivers.

Though there are marking for such parking spaces directly in front of the Delta Center, don’t count on cashing in on them — they are typically used by police and other support vehicles on gamedays.

Salt Lake City hotels near the arena

Many of the city’s major hotels are within a short walk of the Delta Center, including two as close as across the street.

• Courtyard by Marriott Salt Lake City Downtown – 0.1 miles away
• Hyatt House Salt Lake City Downtown – 0.1 miles away
• Radisson Hotel Downtown Salt Lake City – 0.2 miles away
Search for more Salt Lake City hotels on Booking.com.

Map of downtown Salt Lake City

Check out rates for hotels near Delta Center below.

Things to do in downtown Salt Lake City

The focus on religion in Utah may lead you to believe that there’s little for fans to do prior to a Jazz game — or any other event at the Delta Center, for that matter — but downtown Salt Lake City has the same restaurant and nightlife scene a visitor would expect to see in any major city, and most of the nearby spots are well-frequented by basketball fans on game days.

A major shopping center called The Gateway occupies two city blocks just west of the Delta Center, and it includes several restaurants as well as a food court.

Head to the blocks south of the venue for a better selection of establishments, including locally based Red Rock Brewery and fast-food chain Crown Burgers, where you can try a local specialty — pastrami burgers with a condiment called fry sauce.

If drinking’s your thing, you can find a list of downtown Salt Lake City bars here.

While you’re in the vicinity, take some time to walk through Temple Square, where you can learn the history of the Mormon faith in Utah. Across the street from it is the City Creek shopping center, also where many of the downtown area’s major hotels are located.

For more on visiting Salt Lake City, check out our Salt Lake City sports travel guide.

Salt Lake City restaurants near the arena

• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar – American, 0.1 miles away
• Tucanos Brazilian Grill – Brazilian, 0.2 miles away
• STK Steakhouse – steak, 0.2 miles away
Search for more Salt Lake City restaurants on Tripadvisor.

Watching a game at the Delta Center

Opened in 1991, the Delta Center continues to hold up well among its NBA contemporaries, with a sizable but not too large seating bowl, and an updated center-court videoboard.

Still, owing to the venue’s age, the Utah Jazz ushered in a series of improvements to the Delta Center’s concourses, seating areas and more in order to bring it up to date with features offered at other NBA arenas. Another renovation took place in the summer of 2024 to make Delta Center NHL-ready.

Outside, the arena is surrounded by four triangular plazas, created by the square-shaped building sitting diagonally on a square-shaped block.

Be sure to visit the plaza on the southeast corner (next to the intersection of 300 West and 100 South) to see the statues of the Jazz’s two legends, John Stockton and Karl Malone.

Inside, the concourses and aisles between seating sections at the Delta Center are easy to navigate, with two main concourses and a club level in between. Starting with the event floor, there are six levels, with Level 3 serving as the main concourse, Level 5 as the upper concourse and Level 6 being a standing-room level above the upper seating tier.

Level 6 features two bars, a kids’ play area and plenty of spots to watch the game — though if it’s a hockey game, know that you’ll be in the obstructed-view area.

The width of the Delta Center’s seating sections can be surprisingly narrow as well — as few as eight seats in some cases — making it easier than at most arenas to leave your seat to get another beer while the action is going on.

Designed primarily for basketball, the Delta Center’s sight lines are impeccable for Jazz games and other hoops events, with the seating bowl made smaller than typical multipurpose arenas. This, of course, presented a problem with the Utah Hockey Club’s arrival.

The basketball-specific configuration means that for hockey games, most of the seating areas behind the nets at the Delta Center are obstructed view — meaning you won’t be able to see the goal in front of you.

It remains to be seen whether this issue will be addressed with major renovations to the Delta Center or the construction of a brand-new arena that can better accommodate hockey. But at least for the Utah Hockey Club’s first season, fans didn’t seem to mind too much.

Food and drink at Delta Center

Most of the same concessions options are available on both main concourse levels, and a few more adventurous choices are out there, including Cupbop (Korean BBQ meat and rice in a cup) and dirty soda (a Utah specialty, basically regular soda with different flavorings added). The fast-food chains Chick-fil-A also operates stands inside as well.

Also check out another Utah favorite, the Iceberg Drive-Inn stand on Level 3, for their thick shakes, made so that the shake stands a few inches above the upper lip of the cup.

If you’re looking for budget options at a Delta Center event, check out the Mountain Menu, with basic arena staples such as hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and bottled water available for no more than $3 each. Different items are served at different stands, so you’ll have to examine your options at each booth.

Delta Center has also embraced mobile ordering, with touchscreens available at each concession stands as well as at various stations on each concourse, from which you can order from any booth. You can also scan one of the many QR codes on display to order your preferred meal through your phone.

Original publish date: February 4, 2016
Most recent update: December 19, 2024

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