Jazz owner Ryan Smith can apply to “become a partner of Salt Lake City in creating a ‘revitalization’ district of up to 100 acres centered around the current grounds of the Delta Center”Rob Gray/USA TODAY NETWORK
The Jazz ownership group said that downtown Salt Lake City “‘needs revitalization’ and ‘reimagination,’” — and they have “argued they should be at the forefront of such a movement,” according to Andy Larsen of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Smith Entertainment Group representative Mike Maughan said, “This is not about a stadium. We don’t want the world’s best stadium if nothing else in downtown changes.” Larsen noted Maughan shed “additional light” on Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith’s “vision for their downtown district.” Under the terms of state bill SB272, passed by the Legislature but “not yet signed”, Smith can apply to “become a partner of Salt Lake City in creating a ‘revitalization’ district of up to 100 acres centered around the current grounds of the Delta Center.” Salt Lake City “blocks are 10 acres in size.” The state estimates the bill would raise about $54M per year “over the course of 30 years.” Then, a district board “could decide to use those funds on a reconstructed or newly built arena” that would host the Jazz and a “potential NHL team coming to Salt Lake City,” along with other improvements in the district. Maughan said, “The vision is a very connected downtown with a lot of flow, a lot of walkability, the ability to bring everybody together.” He added, “Too much of what’s happened downtown in the past has been piecemeal.” Larsen noted where the district would be is “still to be determined in upcoming months and years to come,” though the bill indicates it “must be centered around the current location of the Delta Center” (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/14).
