The Utah Hockey Club set records last week when its jerseys went on sale for the first time.
The NHL established a new franchise in Utah on April 18, but jerseys didn't go on sale to the public until Utah played the Vegas Golden Knights at Delta Center on Nov. 15, creating pent-up demand.
Fans lined up at the team store, and Utah set the Delta Center single-day sports-event sales record. It beat the previous record -- set at its inaugural game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 8, when other merchandise was available -- by 48 percent.
Delta Center has been the home of the NBA's Utah Jazz since 1991.
Utah set an NHL record, too. Among regular-season games at home arenas, Utah had the best single-game net merchandise sales total, beating the previous best sales total by 29 percent.
Only one game in the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs at a home arena has had a higher single-game net merchandise sales total: the Golden Knights' clinching win in Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on June 23, 2023.
Utah jerseys on NHLShop.com and NHLShop.ca sold out in 24 hours. The team store at Delta Center still has some inventory available. Only the jerseys in the team store come with the inaugural season shoulder patches worn by the players.
Developing a new NHL jersey is usually an 18-month process that includes design, trademark clearance, procurement of raw materials, and finally the manufacturing of game and retail versions.
Utah worked with the NHL and Fanatics to produce jerseys as quickly as possible, using a temporary brand identity for 2024-25 while developing a permanent one for 2025-26.
The first batch includes home and away jerseys. All are adult sizes, and most are blank, because that was most efficient amid the tight timeline, but there are a limited number of player jerseys, and fans can customize blank jerseys.
All are from the Fanatics Premium line, which features a holographic NHL Shield on the neck and the same fabric and graphic techniques as the Authentic Pro line. Blank jerseys are $200. Player jerseys -- or blank jerseys customized with player names and numbers -- are $250. Other customized jerseys are $275.
President of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said Utah will try to restock as early as possible in 2025. Youth sizes will come in the next wave.
"Ultimately, our goal for the entire season is to get as many jerseys in the hands of our fans as we possibly can," Armstrong said.
The inaugural season jerseys will be a collector's item. Armstrong said Utah is deep in the process of developing jerseys for next season, looking at many options.
"What I would say is that, based on the very encouraging feedback that we've received from fans and our players alike on the inaugural season jersey design, we'll be making some adjustments and some what we think are improvements, but we don't want to deviate too far from what's already been well received in our inaugural season," he said.
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