A rendering of redevelopment plans for a Sports, Entertainment, Culture and Convention District in downtown Salt Lake City. (Courtesy Smith Entertainment Group)
As word of the Smith Entertainment Group’s plans for the redevelopment of downtown Salt Lake City were released Oct. 14, a lot of speculation about how the project will affect the city — both during and after the three-plus-year development — began to grow.
From social media posts to letters to the editor of newspapers, as well as on the street conversations, the ambitious four-block, 35-acre Sports, Entertainment, Culture and Convention District was top of mind for many Utahns.
At its core is a pedestrian walkway from City Creek Center to the new east-facing entrance of the Delta Center, something that SEG leader Ryan Smith discussed on a video he posted on X.
“We’re creating a walkway all the way through, and a paseo that connects the culture, convention, and sports and entertainment, all together with a central gathering place where families can come, experience local food, experience iconic brands, and really have a cool place to go,” he said.
Live Nation will benefit from a new 6,000-seat concert venue built next to the new convention center at the Salt Palace, with SEG saying it could host 80 to 120 concerts a year. Japantown, an iconic part of Salt Lake City that has largely been overshadowed by the loading dock area behind the Salt Palace, will be reimagined and restored with retail space, office space and murals. Abravanel Hall will remain in its current location, with back-of-house improvements and a revamping of backstages and office space planned. SEG also plans to build a new art museum within the district.
Demolition will begin in February and take several years. Still to be determined is how 300 West will handle traffic and where that road will go in the future. The Salt Palace itself will undergo major renovations, with two levels for meeting rooms, exhibit halls and convention floors. Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, who also took part in the video, said the venue will serve as an operations, hospitality and event center for the 2034 Olympic Winter Games. A new hotel is also planned for the district.
As development plans crystalize, the Salt Lake Business Journal will update readers on eminent projects and how they will affect traffic in the area, including future shows that have been held in the Salt Palace and will now be moved to other venues.
Funding for the project is coming from a city-approved half-point sales tax that could generate about $900 million, with that money to be split between Delta Center’s ongoing renovations and the district itself. The SEG group is investing $3 billion of its own as well.
