Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith’s proposal to transform three downtown Salt Lake City blocks into a new multibillion-dollar sports, entertainment, culture and convention district has hit a minor roadblock.
A key district agreement between Smith Entertainment Group and the city was approved July 9 by the Salt Lake City Council. The pact’s next stop is with the Legislature’s Revitalization Zone Committee, which was created as a check on the city under SB272, the bill that authorized negotiations for the sports district this spring.
The bill set a 30-day time limit for the Revitalization Zone Committee to either endorse the agreement or send it back for more negotiations after the City Council’s initial approval. Immediately after the council’s vote on the agreement, Mayor Erin Mendenhall told reporters that she expected the pact would be sent on to the committee the next morning, on July 10.
The agreement, however, still hasn’t been sent to the committee as of Thursday — 30 days after the council approved the document.
“We’ve been coordinating with the legislative committee on the timing for the city to formally submit the agreement, as it triggers other next steps and obligations,” council spokesperson Whitney González Fernández said. “The agreement will likely be submitted next week.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, bill sponsor Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, said city and state leaders “agreed to delay the formal notice” of the pact, and the subsequent 30-day window for the legislative committee to review the accord, until all officials could be in town for the required public meeting. Mendenhall is currently in Paris for the Summer Olympics.
“In other words,” McCay continued, “it will happen before the statutory deadline, but the clock hasn’t started yet.”