Utah Jazz showcased new Southern Utah red rock-themed jerseys

Coyote Gulch in Southern Utah

On Tuesday, January 30th, 2018, the Utah Jazz showed up to the game with a whole new look. Both the team and the stadium were revamped, to celebrate the beauty of their home state. Replacing the usual look of Vivint Smart Home Arena, a red rock themed stadium was unveiled. Every detail of the jerseys, as well as the stadium, radiates the natural wonder of southern Utah. Basketball fans were in for a real treat as they tuned in to watch the Utah Jazz in their new jerseys on their newly designed home court.

The jerseys worn by the Jazz on Tuesday were starkly different than their usual navy, yellow, and green. These new jerseys are horizontally striped with different shades of red, orange, and yellow. These stripes vary in width, and mimic the view of a southern Utah sunset. These colors are an obvious nod to the natural beauty of the Utah landscape. The deep reds and oranges represent the red rock throughout the landscape. While the lighter orange and yellow represent the breathtaking sunset in the area. Under closer inspection, the routes of Moab and St. George can be found on the side of the jersey. These jerseys do a terrific job at highlighting what southern Utah is really all about.

This jersey change comes as a part of Nike’s “City Edition” jerseys. However, rather than choose a specific city in Utah, the team chose to showcase all of southern Utah. This couldn’t be timelier, as record numbers of tourists head to the many national parks in the southern Utah area. These new jerseys, which will be worn for a total of six games, are sure to make viewers in other areas interested in the gorgeous land of Utah.

Among those excited for these jerseys is David Williams, the associate managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism. Since he works so hard to attract visitors to the Utah area, he hopes that these jerseys will help more people become aware of how incredible Utah is.

“We promote our national parks and our state parks, and we’ve got the greatest snow on Earth. ...they’ve had the mountain jersey before, so we were excited for this new look,” Williams said. “Southern Utah is so beautiful, and at different times of the day, you get different colors. That’s what the uniform shows; that’s what the court shows.”

As a part of this celebration of southern Utah, the Jazz’s home arena has been transformed, as well. From top to bottom, the southern Utah natural views have inspired the transformation of the arena.

Among the many changes throughout Vivint Smart Home Arena, the court itself may be the biggest change. The court has been redesigned to continue the southern Utah theme. At half court, Utah is the center of attention, with the word Utah displayed with rich hues of red, orange, and yellow. The arrangement of these colors compliments the look of the team's new jerseys.

Just below half court, an amazing depiction of Delicate Arch, a popular geological arch formation found in Arches National Park, stretches down to courtside. From there, fans will see that the entire court is surrounded by those gorgeous reds, oranges, and yellows. Every detail of the court comes together to create a truly magical display.

Even the lighting and digital displays in the arena have been changed. All of Vivint Smart Home Arena is surrounded by warm red, orange, and yellow lighting. This lighting helps fans, both in the arena and at home, to feel the warmth that comes from visiting southern Utah.

Williams hopes that the transformation of the court will attract fans from all around the globe to get curious about southern Utah.

“It’s exciting,” Williams said. “I mean, the NBA gets viewed all over the world. And the games where they’re showing this court and they’re showing this floor, (viewers will) see Delicate Arch, that’s just a bonus for us — that more people are going to associate incredible red rock formations with the state of Utah.”

One thing is for sure, walking into Vivint Smart Home Arena is like walking into the heart of southern Utah. The attention to detail and amazing execution of the southern Utah theme will undoubtedly translate through the television screen. This will help educate people around the world about the area and, hopefully, spark a curiosity about our beautiful area and attract even more people to the incredible state of Utah.

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