Utah Hockey Club Owner Ryan Smith Dishes Out Free Tickets To New Fans

The Utah Hockey Club is still only a few months into its existence, but it already seems like owner Ryan Smith has a firm grasp on how to gain fans for life that will help the franchise thrive in the years to come.

One way he's doing this? How do free tickets sound?

On Wednesday ahead of Utah's game against the Vancouver Canucks, Smith — who also owns the NBA's Utah Jazz —  Smith decided to make sure that some folks who have yet to see his team play in person, get that chance.

Then several hours before the opening faceoff, Smith revealed that over 700 people had responded to his first tweet and that a few had been given access to his eight-seat suite.

So, with so many people looking to get in on a Utah Hockey Club game (for free better yet) Smith decided that the club would open additional seats at the Delta Center and he'd give them away to fans.

Alright, that's very cool.

Of course, as you might expect, those tickets were in high demand and were gone in about an hour.

However, Smith promised that he'll do this again in the future.

That's such a great way to get people in the door because people will usually become a fan once they get to a game. Anyone who has been to a hockey game in person knows there's nothing like it.

So good on Utah for growing the game and building up an already ravenous fan base.

Remember, this is the club that smashed a Delta Center beer sales record during their home opener and had huge crowds of people waiting to buy their inaugural sweaters.

And those were sweaters that may only be around for one season!

So far the NHL's foray into Utah seems to have been a success. 

On the ice, the team hasn't been quite as successful, but they're very much in the playoff hunt and are currently five points out of the Western Conference's second wild card spot.