Almost 23 years ago, a group of local dignitaries gathered at the newly completed Salt Palace to hear speakers enthusiastically laud it as the greatest achievement of its kind in the state's history.
At an interdenominational devotional a day later, ecclesiastical leaders joined to offer prayers of thanks for the prosperity that made the arena and exhibit space possible.The Salt Palace cost taxpayers $19.2 million to build and came after years of public arguments about its merits. When it officially opened on July 12, 1969, it was hailed as evidence that Salt Lake City belonged on the list of major cities.
The fact that bulldozers may soon level the arena makes public officials, even those who favor its demise, wince. Modern sports arenas, unlike their ancient Roman counterparts, have joined the list of society's disposable items.
"People may feel a little sad, but I don't think you'll see a lot of opposition to tearing it down," said Salt Lake County Commission Chairman Jim Bradley. He said Utah sports fans during recent months transferred their emotional attachment to the new Delta Center - the arena that made the Salt Palace obsolete.
But the short history of the Salt Palace includes some of the state's most memorable sporting and entertainment events. In many ways, its history is the history of professional sports in Utah, as the arena attracted pro hockey and basketball to the state.
Among the highlights:
May 9, 1968 - The arena still is under construction when the Western Hockey League awards Salt Lake City a hockey team. The first game is Oct. 10, 1969. The Salt Lake Golden Eagles defeat San Diego 4-2 in front of 6,023 fans.
July 12, 1969 - Glen Campbell becomes the first major artist to perform in the Salt Palace arena, to a sellout crowd of 13,420.
June 10, 1970 - Bill Daniels holds a news conference to announce he is moving his Los Angeles Stars of the American Basketball Association to Salt Lake City. He says the Salt Palace arena attracted him despite the area's small population.
May 18, 1971 - The Utah Stars capture the ABA championship, creating what many believe to be the arena's most enduring memory. The team defeated Kentucky 131-121 in front of 13,260 fans.
May 3, 1975 - The Golden Eagles defeat the Dallas Blackhawks, 5-4, in double overtime to win the Central Hockey League championship in front of 11,018 fans.
Dec. 3, 1975 - With mounting financial problems, the Utah Stars sell four players to St. Louis and go out of business.
Oct. 15, 1979 - The Utah Jazz play their first-ever home game, attracting 7,721 fans who watched them lose to Milwaukee 131-107. The team had moved to Salt Lake City from New Orleans, and its success, including two Midwest Division championships, would eventually spell doom for the Salt Palace arena.
May 8, 1980 - The Golden Eagles win another Central Hockey League championship, 2-1 over Fort Worth, in front of 11,134, a record hockey crowd at the time.
May 18 1981 - The Golden Eagles defeat the Wichita Wings, 5-2, in the Palace for their third and final Central Hockey League title. The crowd of 11,224 surpassed the previous season's record high.
The game was the last championship won in the Salt Palace. The Eagles won two championships in the International Hockey League in the 1980s, but both victories came on the road.
Jan. 18, 1991 - Three teenagers are trampled to death at a concert by the heavy-metal group AC/DC in the arena's most tragic incident. Although the practice was outlawed by ordinance in 1982, Salt Lake County officials had allowed concertgoers to roam freely on the arena floor in a "festival seating" arrangement.
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Salty edifice
The original, legendary Salt Palace deserved its name. Built in 1899 on 900 South between Main and State streets, the Salt Palace auditorium of yore was literally encrusted with salt. One contemporary description said the salty edifice sparkled under the noonday sun and glistened at night. The building burned to the ground in 1910.
Tunnel idea for 100 South is buried
When the Salt Palace becomes a full-scale convention facility, it won't have a 100 South tunnel running beneath it, as originally proposed, city officials said.
Proposed by city engineers to disperse east-west traffic from downtown, the tunnel would have crimped plans to expand convention exhibit space and eventually may have led to the nightmare of an underground intersection with 200 West if the convention center was expanded farther west.
Not only that, it would have cost about $8 million.
Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini recently sent a letter to county officials, saying the cost of extending the street outweighed the benefits of restoring a thoroughfare that was blocked when the Salt Palace complex was built.
Jay Evensen