Pioneers Games - Black Rock Mountain Event Center

The Pioneers were founded in 2009 by David Imonti, who saw an opportunity in Park City for a semi-pro adult team that combined high-level hockey with local entertainment, especially during the winter season. The team played out of the Park City Ice Arena, and were described as a "senior elite" club (meaning top amateur / semi-pro players) composed of players from college, minor leagues, and abroad. 

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The goal was to give Park City residents and visitors some exciting winter night entertainment, with hockey fitting nicely between dinner and après-ski.

In the early years, the Pioneers competed in the Mountain West Hockey League (MWHL), a Senior A league with clubs from across the Western United States. The Pioneers became a charter member of the Black Diamond Hockey League (BDHL) in 2014, which was a semi-professional league of mountain-town teams (Park City, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley, Bozeman).

Despite the early successes, by 2015 the Pioneers faced significant operational challenges and the Pioneers announced that they would not play during the 2015-16 season, effectively ceasing operations for a period. Imonti stepped away to focus on his hockey agency, and the team struggled to find someone to take full control. 

After a three-year break, the Pioneers were revived for the 2019-20 season under new leadership GM/owner Robert Ward. The revived club once again played at the Park City Ice Arena, entered the BDHL, and emphasized community engagement, continuity of roster, and a local home game experience. 

After a successful start and massive community support, Covid 19 struck in March of 2020 seizing all operations due to the restrictions set forth from the devastating Covid spread. The team lost momentum again and played a couple games on the road for the next few seasons. 

Coming out of the shadows in 2025, Robert Ward and his new partner Jordon Stone decided it was time for a change, and took advantage of a game changing opportunity of moving the team into the new facility down the road - the Black Rock Mountain Resort & Event Center. With the Pioneers in a new home and once again with local support, they plan to revolutionize the Park City Pioneers hockey experience with the new world class arena, becoming the #1 destination for Sr.a / Semi Pro teams in the nation.