Smith Entertainment Group has acquired a large portion of the Salt Palace Convention Center as its vision for downtown’s future continues to take shape.
The Salt Lake County Council voted Tuesday on a resolution to sell about a dozen parcels totaling 6.5 acres of county-owned land near 55 S. 300 West at a base price of a little over $55.4 million. The final price fell within “fair market value,” according to Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, and will help kickstart funding for a massive project to remodel and “modernize” the convention center.
The deal, outlined in a 76-page purchase agreement, includes several other provisions, such as an extra $87 million in a 25-year lease agreement. It lists Feb. 16, 2027, as the transaction closing date.
Meanwhile, with the vote, Salt Lake County plans to begin a process this week to find a project architect. If everything aligns, partial demolition of the Salt Palace could begin as early as 2027, Wilson said after the vote. The vote, she adds, should help finalize Salt Lake City and Utah’s goal to keep the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club downtown for decades to come.
“I think this was a major building block today to get us to be able to move forward,” she said.
Discussions over a key piece of the “sports, entertainment, culture and convention district” plan occurred earlier this month. County Council members spent over an hour in a closed session discussing the sale; it was a day after Gov. Spencer Cox met with Wilson, Smith Entertainment Group representatives and state legislators over the “mid block” portion of the district outside of the Delta Center, which could link the arena with the rest of the district.
Those conversations picked up after Salt Lake City leaders and the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Committee each passed measures created in this year’s SB26, setting up a “funding mechanism” for the projected $1.8 billion project. Projects tied to the county account for about $1.5 billion of the total cost of redevelopment.
Smith Entertainment Group founder Ryan Smith unveiled the plans shortly after bringing an NHL team to Utah last year. It sparked a process that ended in Salt Lake City approving a 0.5% citywide sales tax to help repay up to $900 million in bonds Smith was permitted to seek toward construction costs.
County officials say selling the land is a “necessary condition” in plans to improve the Delta Center, which is now undergoing its first remodeling phase. However, it will also provide funding for the remodeling and reconstruction of the Salt Palace, while opening up nearly $5 million in annual county property tax revenue as the land switches over to nonexempt tax status.
The sale would also help “connect” the Delta Center, Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and other downtown buildings, county officials add.
“Linking these assets for visitors and businesses prepares the county to host major national and international events more effectively and generate additional revenue from visitors,” the resolution states.
When it remodels the convention center, the county plans to build a second Salt Palace ballroom and new convention event spaces. It is unclear when that will happen, but according to county projections, it should generate about $11.5 million in new annual state, county and city tax revenue.
This article will be updated.