- In 2002 Salt Lake's organizers wanted Olympic figure skating at the E Center and the International Skating Union sent it downtown. For 2034 the arena now called the Maverik Center gets it, and the 2027 U.S. Championships are the first look.
- This story sits inside Utah's olympic sports lane and connects to the larger statewide sports picture.
- The story is backed by 17 sources and a visible last-verified date.
October 25, 2026
October 25, 2026
4 min / 917 words
17 official links
In 2001, Salt Lake's Olympic organizers said they would have held figure skating at the E Center in West Valley City. The International Skating Union chose the Delta Center downtown instead, the Deseret News reported, for its larger seating capacity and central location. Twenty-five years later the West Valley arena, renamed the Maverik Center, is set to host every figure skating event of the 2034 Winter Games, and the 2027 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, January 5 to 10, will put the national field on its ice first.
What happened at the E Center in 2002?
The arena opened on September 22, 1997, according to the Maverik Center, and it describes itself as the host venue for the ice hockey championships of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Olympic hockey in 2002 was split between the E Center and the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo, according to Olympedia.
On Sunday, February 24, 2002, Canada beat the United States 5-2 at the E Center for its first Olympic men's hockey gold since 1952, according to Hockey Canada's game summary.
Why was 2002 figure skating downtown?
Figure skating and short track were held at the Delta Center, which the Salt Lake Organizing Committee called the Salt Lake Ice Center during the Games. The Deseret News reported in February 2001 that organizers would have chosen to hold figure skating at the E Center, but the International Skating Union preferred the Delta Center because of its greater seating capacity and central location, in the words of Mitt Romney, who ran the organizing committee.
So Utah's 2002 figure skating gold was won downtown. On February 21, 2002, Sarah Hughes, 16, came from fourth place after the short program to win the women's gold at the Salt Lake Ice Center, with Irina Slutskaya second and Michelle Kwan third, the Deseret News reported.
What has the Maverik Center hosted since 2002?
The building never went quiet. West Valley City's taxpayers own the building, and in 2010 the city sold its naming rights to Maverik, the gas station chain, in a multi-year agreement that renamed it the Maverik Center from July 2010, the Deseret News and KSL reported. Both put its capacity at 12,500 seats at the time; the Utah Sports Commission lists 10,100 to 12,600 depending on the floor setup.
- The Utah Grizzlies played there from 1997. The ECHL club announced in September 2025 that it would relocate to Trenton, New Jersey, for the 2026-27 season, KSL reported.
- The Salt Lake City Stars, the Utah Jazz's G League affiliate, moved their home games there from SLCC's Lifetime Activities Center in the fall of 2022, KSL reported.
- The 2026 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships were held there March 4 to 7, 2026, according to U.S. Figure Skating.
- The Big 12 Gymnastics Championship was held there in March 2025 and again on March 21, 2026, according to BYU and the Utah Sports Commission.
- The 2026 Stifel Stars on Ice tour brought Olympic gold medalists Alysa Liu and Ilia Malinin to the arena, ABC4 reported.
Why is figure skating moving to the Maverik Center for 2034?
The change came with professional hockey. On October 8, 2024, Ryan Smith, whose NHL team plays at the Delta Center, said the downtown arena would be the hockey venue when the Olympics return, KSL reported. Fraser Bullock, who leads the committee bringing the 2034 Games to Utah, said figure skating and short track would move to the Maverik Center, calling it "a great arena for Olympic-sized ice."
The Salt Lake Tribune reported in November 2025, in a story KPCW carried, that all figure skating and all short track speed skating are planned for the Maverik Center, with the two sports sharing the ice on alternating days as they did downtown in 2002. Ice hockey will take their place at the Delta Center, The Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing Colin Hilton of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation.
The result reverses 2002. Hockey goes downtown; skating goes to West Valley City, the arena its own organizers wanted for it a quarter century ago.
What happens at the Maverik Center in January 2027?
The 2027 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships run January 5 to 10, 2027, at the Maverik Center, the first time the national championships have been held in Utah since 1999, according to U.S. Figure Skating, which calls the building the host venue for figure skating at the 2034 Games. The women's free skate is on Friday, January 8. Juvenile through junior events follow January 10 to 14 at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex.
The 2027 U.S. Figure Skating Championships guide has the full schedule, TRAX directions to Decker Lake Station, the arena's bag rules and tickets. Beehive Athletes collects its skating coverage on the Utah figure skating page, and the wider Games program is on the Utah 2034 page.
Key facts:
- Arena: Maverik Center, West Valley City; opened September 22, 1997; renamed from the E Center in July 2010
- 2002: Olympic ice hockey venue; Canada beat the United States 5-2 for men's gold on February 24, 2002
- 2002 figure skating: held downtown at the Delta Center (Salt Lake Ice Center), where Sarah Hughes won gold on February 21, 2002
- Why downtown in 2002: organizers preferred the E Center; the International Skating Union chose the larger, central Delta Center
- 2034 plan: figure skating and short track at the Maverik Center, hockey at the Delta Center (announced October 8, 2024)
- Next: 2027 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, January 5-10, 2027, the first in Utah since 1999