In a last-minute effort to appease her opponents, Salt Lake Mayor Deedee Corradini has unveiled yet another version of her plan for an Olympic speed-skating oval downtown - this one with a plaza extolling the Greek origins of the Games.
The plan is aimed at officials of the Greek Orthodox Church, whose cathedral is across the street from the proposed site. Church leaders passed a resolution last month opposing the oval."I don't know why we didn't think of this before," Corradini told the City Council on Monday. "The Greeks started the Olympics in the first place."
She met with Greek church officials earlier in the day. Church officials could not be reached for comment, but sources close to the church said they had softened their opposition and agreed not to oppose the oval.
But Corradini's announcement came barely 24 hours before the City Council was scheduled to vote on which of three proposed sites to formally present as its bid. It upset some who just emerged from marathon sessions designed to objectively examine the three proposals.
Those sessions, organized by the mayor and the City Council, involved 30 people representing all interest groups and resulted in a thick report released Monday on the advantages and disadvantages of each site. Corradini said the group was to help provide a public solution to the oval controversy, but some questioned her willingness to listen to the public. Corradini has made no secret that she wants the oval downtown.
"The mayor has no regard for the broad feelings of this community," said Stephen Goldsmith, executive director of Artspace Inc., a business near the proposed site. Goldsmith, who chose 15 members of the group deliberating the proposals, was reacting to Corradini's latest plan.
Along with other opponents, Goldsmith wants the city to fulfill promises made years ago to build low-income housing and to attract retailers and cultural facilities to the block, located between 200 West and 300 West and between 300 South and 400 South. The city's Redevelopment Agency recently passed a master plan for the block and was in the process of selling a half-finished apartment complex on it when the mayor announced last month she wanted it for an oval.
The City Council, scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday night, also is considering a site near 1900 West and 500 South and one on North Temple across from the State Fairgrounds.
City officials will make an oral presentation on one of the sites Wednesday to the Utah Sports Authority, the agency charged with selecting sites for Olympic facilities. Other local governments also have submitted sites.
The report by the 30-member group lists more disadvantages than advantages for the downtown site, including cost. With the demolition of existing buildings and the purchase of land, an oval on the site could cost $8 million before construction begins, according to one segment of the report.
But Corradini believes the site will lead to economic development in a depressed area of downtown. She originally announced plans for a baseball stadium across the street as part of a sports corridor that would include the Delta Center to the north. However, she soon backed away because of opposition and said the stadium and oval are two separate issues.
Then last week, Corradini unveiled plans to attract a developer to build an apartment complex around the oval and retailers to build shops nearby. The city then would buy the southern end of the block and erect a sports complex.
Her latest plans include those things plus the Greek plaza.