SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Hockey Club coach Andre Tourigny wants to experience it all on Tuesday night.

The crowd, the lights, the sounds, the atmosphere, everything. It’s not often that you get to be part of the very first game of a new franchise.

It’s been a hectic six months for the Utah Hockey Club. The team moved an entire team from Arizona, turned the Olympic Oval into a temporary practice facility, broke ground on a permanent facility and installed two NHL-caliber locker rooms in the Delta Center.

All of that was in preparation for Tuesday, Utah’s first-ever regular season game.

“You want to enjoy the moment. You don’t want to miss any of it,” Tourigny said.

It can be hard not to miss anything on Tuesday. The Smith Entertainment Group has turned Tuesday’s franchise opener into a block party.

The schedule?

• 12:30 p.m. — Team owners Ryan and Ashley Smith and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman will hold a live press conference for fans to attend.
• 2:00 PM – ESPN begins a live broadcast from outside the Delta Center. Steve Levy, Mark Messier and PK Subban will host pregame, intermission and postgame shows for an NHL triple header that concludes with Utah’s game against Chicago.
• 4:00 PM — Fan festivities around the Delta Center begin, including DJs, free hockey activities and games.
• 5:00 PM – Utah Hockey Club players arrive for a special entrance.
• 5:30 PM – Popular recording artist Shaboozey (known for “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”) will perform outside the stadium at 300 West and South Temple,
• 6:30 p.m. — Pilots from Hill Air Force Base will perform a special flyover.
• 8:00 PM – The game starts. The Delta Center plaza will turn into a viewing party for those who couldn’t get (or afford) tickets. The game will be shown on giant screens at 300 West at the corners of South Temple and 100 South.

It’s meant to be a celebration of Utah’s newest professional team — a team that seemed like a far-fetched idea even earlier this year.

“I’m sure there are several other cities that would love to have NHL right now, and when that happens is a big question mark for them,” Ryan Smith said. “We were in a place where we could do it. But Utah was in a place to be able to do it, because no matter how great we are or how well funded we are or how ready we are, the state will continue to support us. The day will carry the city. The people who show up will carry the day.”

So far, Utah has appeared.

There were 15,000 people at the welcome party in April. The team has sold 8,500 season tickets (for an arena with barely more than 10,000 “unobstructed” seats, no less). The team sold $160,000 worth of Utah HC merchandise during the preseason game – the second-highest total in arena history.

And Tuesday is expected to be a party, both inside and outside the arena.

“We’re just excited,” Smith said. “I hope everyone has the opportunity to absorb this moment in history. My biggest fear is that we don’t sit back and actually say, ‘This is a moment.’ I hope everyone takes a selfie and sends it to someone.”

But after all the pregame festivities and what is expected to be an electric team introduction, there is still a game to be played. Tourigny wants to give fans a reason to keep the party going long after opening night.

“We have a job to do, we need to make sure we do our job so the party can get started,” he said. “We’re here to be a good hockey team, play a good game. We have a great opportunity to start with a lot of energy for our fans. There’s a lot of enthusiasm around the team. So we want to be on top.” to the challenge.”