“Blue Out” for Jazz Home Opener on Oct. 28

SALT LAKE CITY (October 14, 2016) – Opening night at Vivint Smart Home Arena will be a special night -- with its own color. Utah Jazz players will wear their blue-sleeved pride jerseys for the first time in team history and alumnus Blue Edwards will make a special appearance. Fans are encouraged to join the “blue out” by wearing blue Jazz gear. The Jazz play their 2016-17 home opener on Friday, Oct. 28 against the Los Angeles Lakers. A limited number of tickets are still available at www.utahjazz.com with no online fees, the Vivint Smart Home Arena box office, or by phone at (801) 355-SEAT. The Jazz are offering an opening night special of an upper bowl ticket and hot dog for $15. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tipoff is at 7 p.m. The home opener, presented by Key Bank, includes a blue glow stick giveaway; special uniform display outside the Legends Club and Fanzz store; presence of live DJ in the arena; new routines from the America First Jazz Dancers; a pre-game address by a Jazz player; the national anthem sung by a group from the Salt Lake City Fire Department; a halftime performance by the acrobat Red Panda; a silent auction of Jazz memorabilia for Larry H. Miller Charities and much more. As part of the Jazz alumni program, Theodore “Blue” Edwards will visit Salt Lake City from North Carolina for the home opener and sign autographs on the concourse at the Fanzz team store during pregame. Edwards was selected by the Jazz with the 21st pick in the 1989 NBA Draft from East Carolina University. He played 261 career games for the Jazz from 1989-92 and 1994-95 with averages of 8.1 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Edwards was a member of the 1990 NBA All-Rookie Second Team and represented the Jazz at the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Throughout the preseason, Fanzz is offering $8 blue T-shirts modeled after the player pride jerseys. They are available at all arena outlets, including the Jazz Team Store (portal D), ticket box office store and plaza. The Jazz Boutique exclusively for women is located at portal H and the Fanzz “kids” store is at portal V at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Spectators will again have a variety of food and beverage choices, including the new addition of Zao Asian Café (portal G), which joins Swig drinks and cookies (portals L and NN), CupBop Korean barbecue (portal K) and Chick-fil-A (portal R), among many others. The northwest quadrant also returns its kiosks for Frank’s Grilled Dogs & Sausages, Tom’s Smokehouse barbecue and Salt City Panini and Soups. The three arena pubs are offering a 50 percent discount on food from 5:30-6 p.m. for the home opener. Digital signage is located throughout the lower and upper concourses to direct fans to all concessions. The home opener marks the 26th season for the Jazz at its downtown Salt Lake City arena. Vivint Smart Home Arena recently announced a $125 million renovation project to begin at the conclusion of the 2016-17 Utah Jazz basketball season with a series of upgrades on all six levels to elevate the guest experience. More information is available by clicking on the “Arena Rising” button at www.vivintarena.com. ROOT SPORTS is in its 28th consecutive year of broadcasting Jazz games as the official television partner, airing 78 regular season contests plus pre- and post-game shows. The Zone Sports Network (97.5 FM, 1280 AM) is the exclusive radio home of the Jazz for the fifth straight season. The Jazz are also carrying a Spanish radio broadcast for the seventh straight year. Fans can visit www.utahjazz.com for the most comprehensive coverage of Jazz games.