South Town Mall ‘isn’t going anywhere,’ letter says as construction starts on NHL team practice facility

SANDY — The Utah Hockey Club is making the old Macy’s at the Shops at South Town its new practice facility, but the rest of the mall “isn’t going anywhere,” according to a letter sent to some mall stores.

The stores got a letter from mall management dated Aug. 8 informing them about the finalized sale of the mall to the Smith Entertainment Group and how it would impact their businesses.

“The Shops at South Town is an anchor in this community that isn’t going anywhere,” the letter reads. “The current management team remains in place, and the sale will have no impact on day-to-day operations and programming.”

The letter goes on to state that no impact on traffic flow and parking is anticipated, but an update will be provided on how the construction process “may impact certain areas of the center.”

“The mall will remain open and Smith Entertainment Group will be developing a state-of-the-art practice and training facility for its new NHL team, The Utah Hockey Club on site,” it reads.

The @utahhockeyclub broke ground on their new practice facility at South Town Mall this morning. Mall patrons got a letter telling them the mall “isn’t going anywhere.” We’ll have more on how they’re feeling about what’s planned at 4 and 5 on @KSL5TV https://t.co/hAPNxzz1YF pic.twitter.com/fj7puU6yOW

— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) August 12, 2024

Some mall store owners say they’re “cautiously optimistic” about the plans, hoping they will attract more customers.

“I am super excited. If everything is as they stated, nothing will change,” said Suzi Beckstead, the manager of Bliss, a formal dress shop right next door to the now-empty Macy’s. “Then it will bring new opportunities to us, hopefully.”

One door down, the manager at Eborn Books said he had very few reservations.

“With their headquarters being here, there’s going to have people coming from out of state all the time, the rec leagues, tons of people go to those to watch, watch film and to play. And so, yeah, it’s just going to bring a lot of more clientele in,” Jason Hansen, Eborn Books manager said.

Hansen said he introduced himself to Ryan Smith at the groundbreaking Monday morning.

“He’s like, Oh, great, we’re going to bring a lot more people to your business,” Hansen said.

Smith Entertainments Group says it plans to open the facility by October 2025, the start of that year’s hockey season.