Former Utah Jazz stadium seating coming to Ogden rodeo
Missionary Elder Alex Cordova of Long Beach volunteers Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at Ogden Pioneer Stadium. A dozen volunteers from several area organizations helped sort 7,500 seats from the former Jazz arena.
Volunteers Jeanne Hall, left, and Pat Condon sort chairs with other volunteers Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at Ogden Pioneer Stadium.
A pile of seats waits to be sorted Friday, Jan. 19, 2018, at Ogden Pioneer Stadium. A dozen volunteers from several area organizations helped sort 7,500 seats from the former Jazz arena.
OGDEN — Expect some extra Jazz at the Ogden Pioneer Days rodeo next summer.
The northside fans at Ogden Pioneer Stadium will sit in former Utah Jazz arena seats.
The Jazz organization this week delivered 7,500 green stadium seats to Pioneer Stadium as a gift to Ogden. The seats were leftovers from renovations to the Vivint Smart Home Arena, home to the Utah Jazz.
“I don’t know if there will be a finer outdoor stadium in the United States,” said Alan Hall, Pioneer Days committee chairman. “It will be terrific.”
In addition to the soon-to-be refurbished seats, the rodeo already has about 2,500 chair seats, making 10,000 in all by the time this year’s July 19-24 rodeo comes around, Hall said.
About 100 volunteers responded to the call Thursday and Friday to sort parts and prepare the seats to be cleaned, coated and prepared for installation.
“This is one of those projects that seems impossible, but we’re going to do it with a lot of volunteers,” said Desireé Cooper-Larsen, rodeo sponsorship director.
“When you are talking as many seats as we are trying to deal with, it’s a monumental undertaking,” Rodeo Director Dave Halverson said.
Frank Zang, senior vice president of communications for the Utah Jazz, said the organization was happy to make the donation.
“We’re thrilled to be able to repurpose those iconic green seats that have been in the arena for the last 25 years,” he said. “The Utah Jazz has a desire to give back to the community where we live, work and play.”
Memories such as the John Stockton and Karl Malone era, when the Utah Jazz played the Chicago Bulls for the National Basketball Association title in 1998, the 2002 Winter Olympics and concerts by the likes of Garth Brooks were all made for fans who sat in those seats.
Volunteers came from all kinds of places, including full-time missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, inmates from the Weber County Jail, Youth Impact and Boys & Girls Club of Weber-Davis.
Drace Hadley of Ogden was one of 10 inmates working on the sorting project.
“We appreciate the opportunity to give back to the community,” Hadley said. “It helps the day go by and it’s good for us.”
Candace Gruber, a member of the Ogden Pioneer Days Whoopie Girls, a group that posts flags and hosts events during the annual celebration, said she was happy to lend a hand in disposing cup holders as part of the sorting effort.
“It will be nice to have backrests and kind of your own space at the rodeo,” she said.
Hall said the effort was possible due to many large contributions, totaling about $1.3 million.
Among the donors were the Larry H. Miller and Gail Miller Family Foundation, that contributed to the cost of constructing the new grandstands in addition to donating the seats. Other donors included the George S. and Delores Doré Eccles Foundation, Weber County R.A.M.P., Ogden City, Wadman Corporation and Ogden Pioneer Days Foundation.
While razing and rebuilding the north grandstands to accommodate the Jazz seating was expensive, Hall said the expense was nothing compared to the cost of buying new seats.
“If I had to go out and buy those seats at $400 for a seat, you are talking about $3 million worth of seats,” Hall said.
You may reach reporter JaNae Francis at jfrancis@standard.net or 801-625-4228. Follow her on Twitter at @JaNaeFrancisSE or on Facebook at Facebook.com/SEJaNaeFrancis.