Josh Groban's sold-out performance in Salt Lake City Thursday serenaded the announcement of Larry H. Miller's new theater concert venue, the Nu Skin Theatre at the Delta Center.
Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment announced its partnership with Provo-based Nu Skin Enterprises in creating the theater concept, which Miller Group president Dennis Haslam described Thursday as "a cut-down theater version" of the Delta Center concert arena.
The theater is now prominently signed on the Delta Center's exterior with the Nu Skin logo, and it will seat 3,000 to 7,000 spectators, depending on artists' requests. The arena has a capacity to seat 20,400 people. Through the use of extensive drapery and carpet, Haslam said the Nu Skin Theatre hopefully will create the feel and acoustical quality of an intimate concert space.
"We felt that in order to maintain the position we've had in the marketplace in the entertainment world in Salt Lake City, we needed to be able to bring to Salt Lake City concerts and other types of entertainment in the theater setting that would accommodate more than 1,500 or 3,000 spectators," Haslam said. "We've learned over the years that there are a number of young and up-and-coming artists that are interested in playing the smaller building and not a cavernous arena setting."
Miller Group and Nu Skin officials declined to say how much Nu Skin invested in the project, or the terms of the new sponsorship agreement, except to call it "an expansion of a long-term partnership" between the two entities.
Nu Skin and the Miller Group formed their initial partnership in 1992, and Nu Skin is the sponsor of the Utah Jazz dancers.
The expanded relationship "gives us, among other things, more room for signage," joked Nu Skin chairman Blake Roney. "We've been so limited, the Jazz dancers don't give us much room for our Nu Skin logo. So we're really pleased to have more space to work with."
Despite the fact that it will have to share signage space on the exterior of the building, Haslam and Delta Center owner Larry H. Miller said that launching the new theater should be welcomed by the facility's current marquee sponsor, Delta Air Lines.
"I don't think that our relationship with Delta is changed at all," Haslam said. "I think it enhances our relationship with Delta, because we'll have additional advertising that is positively associated with the Delta Center and the Delta brand."
"Delta pays attention to how many people come to the building and what the array of events is," Miller said. "So this can only enhance their exposure."
The theater is expected to add seven to 10 additional events to the facility's entertainment docket every year, Miller said. The next to perform will be Sarah Brightman, on March 6.
The first round of tickets for Groban's Salt Lake show sold out in approximately 10 minutes. An additional 800 seats were released earlier this month, and those sold out in seven minutes. The show seated about 5,500.
E-mail: jnii@desnews.com