When wrecking balls smash into the Salt Palace Acord Arena next year, Salt Lake County will be bucking a trend.
Nearly every major metropolitan area with a new arena has decided to keep its old one, believing second arenas will come in handy.Elected officials are especially reluctant to demolish arenas that are relatively young and in good condition, as the 23-year-old county-owned Salt Palace is.
And, while county officials say they can't make the Salt Palace profitable because of a strict non-compete agreement between the county and the Delta Center, that hasn't stopped other cities. The city of Milwaukee continues to operate the Milwaukee arena despite signing a strict non-compete agreement with owners of the new Bradley Center.
Salt Lake County officials, however, believe they are acting more responsibly than leaders of other metropolitan areas. They have $60 million with which to expand the convention center, and they think the Acord Arena is standing in the way of an ideal exhibition hall. Despite its youth, the Salt Palace Acord Arena has outlived its usefulness, they believe.
"Is there an obligation to keep all public buildings regardless of their function and design?" asked Kevin Higgins, administrative aide to County Commission Chairman Jim Bradley. "Symphony Hall should be here 100 years. It's a beautiful building. But look at the Acord Arena. It's a utilitarian building with a specific purpose that was going to end someday."
So far, most residents along the Wasatch Front either agree or don't care. Unlike residents in other cities, no one has raised a serious protest over plans to destroy the Salt Palace.
Voice of warning
The lone voice of warning comes from Austin, Texas, where former Salt Palace Director Sam Driggs now heads the Austin Convention Center.
"I think to tear it down is a mistake," he said of the Salt Palace. "If people tear down arenas, it's because they're so old that they present fire-safety problems, structural problems or are not handicapped accessible - things like that. The Salt Palace doesn't need to be torn down."
Arena managers in other cities share similar views. In Phoenix, Minneapolis, Charlotte, N.C., and Detroit, local governments own more than one arena and compete directly with each other for concerts and other events.
Some of the second arenas have lured tenants such as arena football or indoor soccer and tennis teams, and they also house local college teams. Some operate on the belief that many concert promoters prefer a smaller, more intimate arena.
"We're realistic enough to realize that a lot of promoters want to book shows in the new arena," said Ray McAuley, deputy director of Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, a state-owned facility competing against the new America West Arena, built partially with city funds.
"After six months we think the gloss will wear off and they (promoters) will go wherever they can get the best deal. We're almost paid for. We should be in a better situation to compete than they are. Only time will tell."
Phoenix also recently built an 18,000-seat amphitheater to house even more concerts. McAuley said the Salt Lake metropolitan area is large enough to attract as many concerts as Phoenix. "They usually go up there after they leave here," he said.
Arenas struggling
But Phoenix has yet to prove it can make both arenas profitable. The America West Arena opened only last spring.
In fact, most cities haven't run two arenas long enough to show whether it's possible to earn a profit. The few cities who have tried it for several years are struggling. But residents of those cities won't let the arenas go.
Milwaukee's situation parallels Salt Lake County's. Not only are city officials there operating with a non-compete agreement, they are running an arena in the middle of the Mecca, a convention center.
The Mecca's final 1991 budget shows the arena lost $8,966 that year, contributing to an $873,846 total convention-center deficit that had to be made up through a city tax on hotel rooms.
But Jeff Hurtado, president of the Milwaukee Arena, said all talk of destroying the arena has ceased.
"It's just the opposite. People are saying `Save the arena,' " he said.
In Charlotte, N.C., voters will be asked this year whether they want to pay more taxes to bring the old coliseum out of mothballs. Officials said they originally wanted to destroy the building when the new coliseum was built, but public protests stopped them.
Operators of the Met Center in Bloomington, Minn., competing with two other arenas in the Minneapolis area, are relying on a new mall across the street - reportedly the world's largest - to help them.
"We think this year we'll become financially stable," said Pat Forciea, vice president of communications and operations for the Minnesota North Stars, which manages the Met Center. "It's an asset to have that many people already seeking entertainment right across the street."
Because it is privately managed, the Met Center's budget is not public. But Forciea admits the Minneapolis area is a bit crowded when it comes to arenas.
Salt Lake County officials think things are a bit crowded here, too, and they don't want to chance taxpayer money maintaining a second arena. They note that Salt Lake City really has three arenas. The 15,000-seat Huntsman Center at the University of Utah houses concerts. The larger metropolitan area includes two more - Brigham Young University's Marriott Center and Weber State University's Dee Events Center.
Higgins believes that makes the Salt Palace arena expendable. "This is not a terribly large metropolitan area, and the Salt Palace is in a very prime location," he said.
Concert recession
Other local officials doubt the concert industry could sustain two arenas, even if the county wasn't pledged not to compete with the Delta Center. The recession apparently has forced most entertainers to stay home and make videos.
David Meek, current Salt Palace manager, doesn't hesitate when asked whether the Salt Palace arena can make money.
"No. The Acord Arena was profitable when the Jazz were here. We had 41 games a year plus the ice shows, the circus and 12 to 15 concerts a year, and we also had hockey. The arena helped the whole facility with the money it generated. But without the Jazz it isn't possible."
So far, budget figures back him up. The Salt Palace lost $212,486 during the first six months of 1992. At this time last year, with the Jazz still in the building, it had earned $638,761.
Even Larry Miller, owner of the Delta Center and the basketball and hockey teams that play in it, said he is surprised at how few concerts he's attracted.
"We're only getting about half the concerts we thought we would," he said. "Concerts tours are becoming fairly few and far between."
He said the Delta Center has been selective, accepting only the concerts that will attract 7,000 people and up.
Meek said it would be nice for the metro area to have a 6,000-seat arena for smaller concerts. The coliseum at the state Fairpark could serve that purpose if it was renovated.
Jackie Nokes, state fair director, agrees, but she said renovation of the 79-year-old building would take about $5 million. She's had trouble getting state lawmakers to provide the money.
Meanwhile, only about 2,000 seats in the building are usable. The balcony is closed because it doesn't include enough exits.
Tried everything
County officials said they examined several ways to keep the Salt Palace arena. They even talked with Miller about the Utah Jazz managing both arenas, much as the Portland Trail Blazers will try to do once that city's new arena is built.
J. Isaac, director of business development for the Trail Blazers, believes enough shows and events are available to fill two arenas. Traveling concerts and family shows often can't be flexible with dates. Rather than turn them away because the city's lone arena is filled, the Trail Blazers can book the show into the old arena.
"It will give us flexibility with dates. If the Trail Blazers are playing on a weekend and a rock show wants to come to town, in the past there wasn't an availability," Isaac said. "Now, we'll be able to accommodate them."
But Miller rejected a similar arrangement because he didn't want to be accused of lining his own pockets.
"If we booked an event at the Delta Center rather than the Salt Palace, people could say, `Those guys are skewing business to benefit themselves,' " he said.
After months of studying the arena, county officials said they couldn't get around the fact it was keeping them from building an ideal exhibit hall and ballroom. The arena was in the way.
In other cities, arenas are part of convention centers, used as assembly halls for large conventions.
Rick Davis, executive director of the Salt Palace Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the proposed new ballroom will seat about 4,000 people - enough for most convention assemblies. Larger conventions will have to use the Delta Center, if it's available.
County officials concede the Salt Palace never will earn a profit. A 1 percent sales tax on restaurant bills will make up the difference. But they say conventions will boost the rest of the local economy.
County Commission Chairman Jim Bradley said the hotel industry also influenced the decision.
"Hotels want a convention center. They don't want an arena. They don't make money off of that," he said. "The important thing is we went through a process and all the equations added up to tearing it down."
Bradley said the county also would have felt a moral responsibility to bring the old arena up to current earthquake codes - at a cost of about $5 million. He felt taxpayers would be better served by a convention center.
"We might have a need for another arena 20 years from now, but then we will have the opportunity to build a new arena rather than fix a 50-year-old one," he said.
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(Additional information)
Tap a goodbye
For people who want to say goodbye, therapeutic hammer parties are being held inside the Salt Palace Acord Arena.
The Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau has purchased several 99-cent wooden hammers. Organizations that want an explanation why the arena is being destroyed can sit through a slide presentation, then use the hammers to tap goodbye on the arena walls.
The parties will continue until the wrecking crews come late next year. For more information, call 521-2822. ******
(Chart)
Arena demolition and construction
Many cities with NBA franchises have built new arenas in recent years. Here is a list of cities that have built or are planning to build soon and an explanation of what they are doing with their old arenas.
Salt Palace
Number of events before and after Delta center construction
1991 Profit* $638,761
57
11
1992 Loss* $212,486
0 *Through June 30
6
City: Phoenix
Old Arena(s): Vets Memorial Coliseum
Ownership: State
Fate: Will remain
Uses: used for concerts, state fair and hockey
Non-compete agreements: No.
City: Detroit
Old Arena(s): Cobo and Joe Louis
Ownership: City
Fate: Both remain
Uses: Cobo - indoor soccer, Univ. of Detroit basketball, concerts and conventions. Joe Louis - Redwings hockey
Non-compete agreements: No.
City: Sacramento
Old Arena(s): Arco Arena
Fate: Remodeled
Uses: Old arena to be converted into offices
City: Milwaukee
Old Arena(s): Milwaukee Arena
Ownership: City
Fate: Will remain
Uses: Univ. of Wisc. basketball, Marquett women's basketball, convention assemblies and concerts that conflict withs events in the new arena.
Non-compete agreements: Yes
City: Portland
Old Arena(s): Portland Coliseum
Ownership: City
Fate: Under negotiation
Uses: Portland Trail Blazers have offered to run both arenas
Non-compete agreements: Not yet negotiated
City: Boston
Old Arena(s): Bost Garden
Ownership: Private
Fate: Will be razed when new one completed
Uses:
Non-compete agreements: No
City: Chicago
Old Arena(s): Chicago Stadium
Ownership: Chicago Bulls/Blackhawks joint ownership
Fate: To be decided
Uses: To be decided
Non-Compete Agreements
City: Charlotte
Old Arena(s): Old Coliseum
Ownership: City
Fate: Remains due to protests
Uses: Mothballed. To be renovated if bond election passes.
Non-compete agreements: No
City: Minneapolis, Bloomington
Old Arena(s): St. Paul Civic Center, Met Center
Ownership: Public(cities)
Fate: Both remain
Uses: Met Center used for North Stars hockey, St. Paul to renovate Civic Center for concerts, community events.
Non-Compete agreements: No.