Ensuring our city’s future is vibrant and thriving for all is one of the Salt Lake City Council’s highest priorities, and that is reflected in the many public benefits secured in the city’s agreement with Smith Entertainment Group (SEG).
This isn’t just another deal for a sports arena; it’s a monumental opportunity to deliver lasting public benefits and ensure the vibrancy of our downtown for decades to come.
While sports arenas often garner headlines, our agreement goes beyond revitalizing a single venue and supporting a single team. The state’s Capital City Revitalization Zone Act gave us a seat at the negotiating table so we could ensure Salt Lakers would reap the benefits of this significant development. Unlike projects in other cities, our participation agreement will fund improvements to an already successful arena for two major league sports teams — the Utah Jazz and the Utah Hockey Club — and investments in public art, culture and entertainment to activate surrounding city blocks and invest in our city’s thriving future.
The project creates dynamic, inclusive spaces for all Utahns to enjoy while delivering long-term public benefits such as a new, dedicated revenue stream for affordable, family-sized housing, public art and the revitalization of our historic Japantown in exchange for public dollars. It also guarantees investments in workforce development, new career opportunities and youth sports programs for Salt Lakers. Additionally, it unlocks underutilized parts of downtown that can be converted into walkable, community-gathering spaces that support the 2034 Winter Olympics and other future events.
These benefits are not incidental but intentional. We heard the concerns raised by our residents and fought for months to ensure their priorities were factored into the agreement. The project allows us to make changes much larger than Salt Lake City could have achieved on our own, and with the 0.5% sales tax, we can make sure that our hundreds of thousands of daily visitors help pay for it. But more importantly, the investment spurs the economic growth necessary to produce future revenue for core city services in the years to come. From housing affordability to cultural revitalization and workforce development, the public benefits included in this agreement are designed to shape a brighter, more equitable future for all.
Whether you frequent downtown or not, our commitment to this agreement is deeply rooted in our hope for a vibrant, inclusive and prosperous city for all who call Salt Lake City home. As the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute Director Natalie Gochnour stated in a recent op-ed for The Salt Lake Tribune, sports, entertainment and culture are “the best tools available to keep an urban center vibrant and strong.”
We’ve chosen to invest in our downtown through this timely opportunity. While many of the specifics are still in the works, we are confident this agreement sets us on the path to an exciting future as the district is developed. We now look to our partners at the county and state to continue the momentum and lay the other key puzzle pieces.
This isn’t just about a sports arena or our NBA and NHL teams. This effort even extends beyond Abravanel Hall, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and the Salt Palace. This is about securing a vision for a downtown that is a welcoming, dynamic hub for families, artists, workers and visitors.
With this agreement, we have worked to ensure Salt Lake City remains a place of equitable opportunity and growth for generations. In Gochnour’s words, “Taken together, the magnitude of private investment; tax burden sharing; grocery exemption; user fees to help with housing, arts, historic preservation and workforce; and commitment to stay in Salt Lake City make this proposal a solid investment in Salt Lake City’s future.”
(Salt Lake City Council) A group photo of the Salt Lake City Council. From left to right: Sarah Young, Chris Wharton, Victoria Petro, Alejandro Puy, Darin Mano, Dan Dugan and Eva Lopez Chavez.
The Salt Lake City Council sets the overall policy direction for Salt Lake City and helps decide where to focus resources by adopting annual budgets and ordinances. The current council members are Victoria Petro, Alejandro Puy, Chris Wharton, Eva Lopez Chavez, Darin Mano, Dan Dugan and Sarah Young.
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