The Salt Lake City mayor, City Council and Smith Entertainment Group keep using the phrase “family friendly” to describe their grand plans for downtown.
Call me old-fashioned, but I still retain the notion that a family often consists of one or more adults and one or more children. And yet, the current building boom and re-imaging of downtown seem to leave those types of family groupings out of the picture.
What will be the range of prices for major league hockey games? If a typical Jazz game can be used for comparison, tickets start at $35. How about the price of a hot dog at the game? $12. What if that family wanted to live close to downtown? They might find a small house in the Avenues for $600,000, or in Rose Park for $500,000. They might be able to afford something in one of those new high-rise buildings if both adults are working in high-tech jobs.
Let’s face it, most of those families with kids have already moved way out south. The schools in the city are closing for a lack of students. Family-owned businesses have been priced out also.
So, I guess “family friendly” applies mostly to folks with big incomes and visitors from out of state.
Ray Wilmot, Salt Lake City