SALT LAKE CITY — What may happen with the Hoberman Arch is still very much unknown.
Until last summer, the artful stage piece that was used during the Olympic medals ceremonies during the 2002 Games was on display at the University of Utah. Now, it's in storage until someone decides where to put it next.
Another idea has surfaced from a man who believes he has the perfect home for it.
At Warm Springs Park Wednesday, on the north end of Salt Lake City at 300 West and 900 North, Don Butterfield, the vice chairman of the Capitol Hill Community Council, said he thinks the arch would look good on the hillside.
Warm Springs Park is an open space area owned by the city. About a year ago, the community council began work on a revitalization master plan for the area. The vision is to someday have an amphitheater, some children's play areas and water features.
Butterfield said if the arch were incorporated there, it would create an Olympic Legacy Park.
"The Hoberman Arch and the Olympic Legacy Park, we believe, would fit just beautifully between the two Warm Springs outlets," Butterfield said. “It's city property, it's open space, so there's no other expenses except for putting it up and the maintenance of it."
The arch was an eye-catcher in 2002. The 96 panels seemed to magically open up to unveil Olympic medal winners and musical acts. Butterfield said he would like to see the arch fully operational again, doing just what it once did.
The proposal is just an idea and other groups would have to sign off on it and fund it. He thinks $1.5 million would do it.
"This is a political situation, but I think this solves all of the political problems that there are," Butterfield said, "and that it can be a good solution for Salt Lake and for the state of Utah."
Salt Lake City officials have said they want to do something with the arch but don’t have specific plans.
For more than a decade the arch was displayed on the plaza at Rice-Eccles Stadium before being dismantled in August. The arch was 36 feet tall, 72 feet wide, and weighed 31,000 pounds.
It was taken to a city storage yard. Nearly three dozen pieces of the arch were stolen from that impound lot late last year. But Butterfield believes those pieces can be recreated if necessary.
Email: kmccord@deseretnews.com