A historic railroad depot now has plenty of new tracks — available on about 75,000 music CDs and 15,000 movie and music titles on DVD and VHS.
Virgin Entertainment Group, North America on Thursday officially opened the 23rd Virgin Megastore at The Gateway, bringing music, games, books and other items to local shoppers.
The 15,000-square-foot store has music from Beethoven to Don Ho, from yoga melodies to Bruce Springsteen, plus books from "Digital Fantasy Painting" to a 9/11 remembrance. Magazines, calendars, T-shirts and action figures round out the repertoire.
It's all packed inside the renovated Union Pacific Depot.
"I came to Salt Lake last year for the first time, and I was blown away," said Glen Ward, president and chief executive officer of Virgin Entertainment Group. "This is a beautiful city and a very well-kept secret until the Winter Olympics, which raised the profile.
"It's an opportunity for a 'major statement' store, and The Gateway lends itself to that. It's a first-class, qualify development, and for us the joy of having an historic building like the old station for a Virgin Megastore makes a statement. We've taken half of the station building and have 15,000 square feet for what I think is the best selection in town for music and DVD. When we go into a town, we like to do that — be the biggest and the best."
The store features many opportunities for customers to "try before they buy." Megaplay kiosks allow customers to access a database of more than 2.4 million CD tracks and 10,000 DVD movie trailers through a touch-screen interface. Listening and viewing stations have plasma screens, and more than 270 full-album listening opportunities are offered on music listening stations. Eight multimedia demonstration stations offer video-game-lovers a chance to try out some CD-ROM game titles.
While Salt Lake City may seem like an odd spot for a hip chain like Virgin to put a store, Ward said the company will see what the locals want.
"We're looking and learning. We're not so presumptuous about it. We have to learn about the market, and over the next 12 months, we will learn a lot about Salt Lake," he said.
"I think people should be proud of what they have here. When I started to talk to people in record companies, they said, 'Oh, we always use Salt Lake as a test for new bands and the like,' and obviously there are great facilities, with Delta Center and concert venues, so I know major names are attracted to Salt Lake."
The new store is slightly smaller than the traditional store, which is about 20,000 square feet. But if the smaller store works, it could be the springboard for similar-size locations in other cities. Virgin wants to be in 30 markets, Ward said.
Five local bands were to perform at the store Thursday, and Virgin is well-known for having big-name artists stop by to sign a few autographs and greet fans.
"We want this to be an experience," Ward said. "There's the idea of coming here and hanging out and having fun, to be rubbing shoulders rather than pushing buttons on PCs."
Dave Alder, senior vice president of product and marketing for Virgin Entertainment Group, North America, said having groups — local and national-caliber — is important.
"We try to constantly bring live acts in for signing sessions to all of our stores. In this case, it will be great for the Delta Center, ourselves and the city as a whole," he said. "And having local groups is something we always try to do. It's important to support music in the community, wherever you are."
E-MAIL: bwallace@desnews.com