SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, July 9, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — In a preliminary but unanimous move Tuesday night, the Salt Lake City Council approved a participation agreement with the owners of the Utah Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club for enormous renovations downtown.
Plans envision a Capital City Revitalization Zone around the Delta Center to host the two professional sports franchises among other renovations in a ten-block area downtown. Key to the plan is a 0.5% city sales tax hike to fund $900 million in bonds. The council did not vote on the sale tax Tuesday night.
“Tonight’s unanimous vote by the Salt Lake City Council is an important endorsement and positive step toward creating a Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District in the heart of downtown,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Mike Maughan of the Smith Entertainment Group, (SEG) owners of the two sports franchises, said in a joint statement after the council meeting.
“We are grateful for the council’s support of this vision that will create a more activated, connected, and family-friendly future for Salt Lake City.
“There is a lot of work ahead, and we look forward to continued collaboration with government and community partners as we collectively reimagine a downtown urban core that will benefit residents and visitors for generations to come.”
For more information on the Capital City Revitalization Zone project, visit this link.
The project has its detractors among those questioning taxpayer support of multi-million dollar professional sports entities.
Also of concern is the impact on the future of downtown landmarks such as Abravanel Hall, located in the project area but seemingly not addressed directly, as it is Salt Lake County-owned.
The area of the proposed Sports, Entertainment, Culture, and Convention District, or SECC, is the roughly 100 acres encompassed by South Temple to 200 South and West Temple to 400 West.
The SEG has said estimated renovations to the Delta Center under the project to house both the Jazz and the Club would be completed by the fall of 2027.
