Salt Lake City, Utah: Post Malone Headlines Winter Weekend Built Around the Winter Classic

Salt Lake City is turning its first outdoor NHL game into a four-day New Year's celebration. Smith Entertainment Group unveiled Winter Weekend on Wednesday, October 28, a run of sports and music from December 30 to January 2 built around the 2027 Discover NHL Winter Classic and a New Year's Eve Festival at the Delta Center headlined by Post Malone, with special guest Alesso.

The center of the weekend is December 31. The Utah Mammoth face the Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles Stadium at 4 p.m. MT in the Winter Classic. It is the first Winter Classic appearance for both franchises and the first outdoor NHL game in Utah. When the game ends, the night moves downtown to the Delta Center, where Post Malone headlines the New Year's Eve Festival and Alesso closes the night.

"We wanted to create a weekend unlike anything Utah has experienced before," said Ryan Smith, chairman and CEO of Smith Entertainment Group. "An outdoor NHL game, Post Malone and special guest Alesso at the Delta Center, the Jazz and Mammoth playing throughout the weekend. We're bringing four days of sports and entertainment together to create something special for Utahns and give fans from across the country a reason to make Utah their New Year's Eve destination."

The full run of games

The Utah Jazz open the weekend at the Delta Center on December 30 against the New York Knicks, the defending NBA champions. The Jazz return on January 1 against the Boston Celtics. The Mammoth close the run back at the Delta Center on January 2 against the Vancouver Canucks. Each game and the concert are ticketed separately, but the group is marketing them together as one destination weekend.

Smith Entertainment Group is partnering with Palm Tree Crew, the music and entertainment company founded by Kygo and Myles Shear and known for destination festivals in Aspen, the Hamptons and other resort stops. Winter Weekend is presented by Delta Air Lines.

The NHL awarded the Winter Classic to Rice-Eccles Stadium nearly ten months ago. Commissioner Gary Bettman said at the time that Smith Entertainment Group and the Mammoth "have done everything right," pointing to sold-out games, the work to make the Delta Center function for hockey, and the speed with which the relocated franchise became a playoff team.

Tickets start Thursday

For the New Year's Eve Festival, organizers say more than 6,000 tickets will be priced under $125. Fans can sign up now for the presale, which begins Thursday, October 29, at 10 a.m. MT at the Winter Weekend site. The general sale opens Friday, October 30, at 10 a.m. MT. Doors for the festival open at 9 p.m. MT on December 31, and the festival begins at 10 p.m. MT.

Youth hockey gets a place in the week

The week also reaches younger players. The Gretzky Hockey School will hold a camp for players ages 6 to 14 at the Select Health Ice Center from December 27 to 30, with on-ice skill work, off-ice conditioning and team building. The Utah Mammoth Winter Cup starts January 1 at the same rink, bringing together 10U A through 16U AA youth and girls teams for a multi-day tournament, with championship games on Sunday, January 3.

Smith Entertainment Group owns the Utah Jazz, the Utah Mammoth, the Delta Center and the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League. The group said more Winter Weekend programming will be announced in the coming weeks.