The Utah Hockey Club bought The Shops at South Town and will build a practice and training facility

Utah Tech billionaires Ryan and Ashley Smith had to move at the speed of a hockey slapshot to buy the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, relocate the team to Salt Lake City and then find a location for a practice training facility.

Smith Entertainment Group quickly found the location to build a new practice and training location at a 37-year-old shopping mall developer and owner Los Angeles-based Pacific Retail Capital Partners bought a decade ago and spent millions repositioning. The firm’s business plan to revive the moribund regional mall by creating flexibility for uses beyond retail proved to be a winner.

Last Friday, Salt Lake City’s newest professional sports franchise bought The Shops of South Town and its 111 acres in Sandy, about 18 miles south of Salt Lake City, capping a process that started in mid-May.

“It was lightning fast in this environment” with interest rates up and tight debt markets, says Oscar Parra, a principal in Pacific Retail Capital Partners.

The deal marks a rarity in real estate – a professional team buying an operating shopping mall to house its offices and a training facility. The training facility will be built next to the former Macy’s department store, which will be converted into offices. Delta Center will be the Utah Hockey Club’s home ice, sharing the arena with the NBA’s Utah Jazz owned by Smith Entertainment Group.

Original story HERE