Jazz/NHL Area Plan is Fluid

 After reading this article form Building Salt Lake, who have talked to people familiar with the negotiations have come up with a description of the plan.  Let me emphasize, this is fluid, and we are still early in the process.  I would not expect things to begin to solidify until after the summer is over.  There are a lot of stake holders in the area affected, but the main player are: Smith Entertainment Group who own the Utah Jazz and the current Delta Center, Salt Lake County, who owns the Salt Palace Convention Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City and Utah Symphony/Utah Opera.

At the site of the current Delta Center

A. Extension to the Salt Palace Convention Center
B. Possibly a location for a new Symphony Hall and/or opera house.  About 300% larger than the footprint of the current hall.
C. Bridge over 300 W.

At the block east of the current Delta Center
D. New Multi-Story Convention Center Wing
E. Revitalized and enlarged Japanese Garden
F. Bridge over 200 W.  (Largely unchanged)

At the next block east,

G.  The site of the new sports arena.  Likely, there will be some convention center facilities here to connect the south portion and the west portion.
H.  100 South between West Temple and 200 West restored.

I.  A connection from the Salt Palace South Convention Center to the sports arena.
K.  Promenade over West Temple from The City Creek Center.  This is the view from the rendering shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Ryan Smith.  In that X post, the building to the left of the promenade is the Marriott Hotel.  The Building to the Right is Nordstom.  (Or a new building to replace Nordstrom.)  This could be built over the garage, ballroom and lobby area of the hotel.  This could also be a redesign of the entire west portion of City Creek Center.
L. Site of Marriot Hotel downtown.  One of 4 Marriott's in Salt Lake City.  3 are downtown, the other is in the University of Utah Research Park.  This one is the oldest.  Was built in the late '70s.

The block to the south

J. The exhibit halls at the South End of the Salt Palace remain.

You have been told that the project was to give Ryan Smith a shiny new home.  That is only part of the truth.  The purpose of the project is to revitalize the downtown area of Salt Lake City and keep it fresh. This concept is a little over 50 acres. Here are the problems that downtown is having at the moment that this project is meant to solve.

1. The Delta Center is a good basketball arena.  It could host the Jazz for another 10 years or even longer.  But it does not convert to hockey or other sports well.  The acoustics are terrible.  Musicians who perform there complain.  Fans complain.  Anyone who is there for a purpose other than basketball complains.

2. The Salt Palace is undersized compared to other cities..  It is less than half the size of Denver Convention Center and a fifth the size of the Las Vegas Convention Center.  It is smaller than Phoenix, Portland and Seattle.

3. The City Creek Center and Gateway Plaza have become victims of the retail apocalypses.  The gateway has seen more store closures than City Creek by far.

4. From the musicians perspective, Abravanel Hall is a little too dead.  It is clearly built for the audience, with can make playing in an ensemble a little difficult.  Here is an article on what the hall is like for a musician.  Perhaps something better is in order.  From the audience perspective, its a great place to catch a concert.  As an audience member I see no reason to replace it.  But I would love a place that could attract more world-class musicians.  I'm not saying musicians hate it.  I don't know of one that does.  But I get the impression, they don't love it either.  This could end up as the more controversial part of the plan.

Again, this situation is fluid. I feel that the Symphony will be cast as the victim. I can see that side of the story. They will need a temporary place to rehearse and play, while the Jazz and the NHL will get to remain in the Delta Center.  I have played in a couple of community orchestras myself and understand the problem.  I know what it is like to be shifted from one rehearsal hall to another.  There are four theaters in the vicinity of Temple Square that can be used for concert halls.  But can they practice there?  You can use the Eccles Theater and Rose Wagner Theater as well, but not to interfere with other events at these locations.  But they will need a permanent place to rehearse.  From an arts perspective, it would be nice to have a dedicated Opera House.  It would also be a great place for non-opera events.

Overall benefits of this plan:

1. Traffic flow downtown will improve with 100 South being open all the way through
2. A larger convention center with the ability to host multiple conventions
3. More events downtown.  Every single Friday and Saturday night should have something happening, even during the summer.
4. A more balanced symphonic experience.  One where both the musicians and the audience have a pleasant event.

The Rendering is In...and I wasn't that far off

The rendering is in, and this is it...

But we are left to guess what the plan will be.  This is my guess, and this looks like a Billion Dollar project.

Below is my guess on what the plan is...

Phase 1: September 2024 to September 2027

-Close the parking lot, begin construction on the arena.  
-Take steps to protect Japan-town, the Japanese garden and the Japanese Church of Christ
-Close and demolish the Radisson Hotel
-Close and demolish the Fidelity field office
-Close and demolish the west wing of the Salt Palace (West of 200 W.) while preserving the rest of the facility
-Begin construction on the south plaza and the pedestrian bridge

Phase 2: Late 2034-and beyond

-Close and demolish the original Delta Center
-Build a tunnel under or bridge over 300 West
-Build a 

The Plan for an NHL Hockey Arena in Utah

The day has come, the Jazz days in the Delta Center are numbered,  We'll see the Jazz at 100 South John Stockton drive for a few more years.  But those days will end.  Probably soon.  The desire to keep the Jazz downtown instead of moving them to Draper have come to a head.  Ryan Smith floated something about building a NHL arena at the old prison site, rumors floated that the Jazz would go with them. Mayor Erin Mendenhall said, "we ain't gonna have none of that." And suddenly, the state will allocate 1 billion taxpayer dollars to build a new arena downtown.

What is wrong with the Delta Center?  Well, two things.  First, its old.  It is the 3rd oldest in use in the NBA behind Madison Square Garden and the Target Center in Minneapolis.  The second reason is that the Delta Center is a basketball first arena that doesn't convert well to other events.  For Hockey, the sightlines are not good, especially in the upper bowl.  With the current configuration, about 4,000 seats are lost when converting from basketball to hockey.  For concerts, the acoustics are terrible.  Some acts, like the Eagles, figure it out, others do not.

The NHL appears destined to have a Salt Lake City franchise sooner or later.  Sooner, if the Arizona Coyotes can't work out their arena issues.  Later if they do.  It will happen, but they could play in Draper as Ryan Smith could build a new arena at the old prison site without state help.  The bill working its way through the legislature is not really about keeping the Jazz in Utah or attracting an NHL team to the Wasatch front.  It's about keeping the Jazz downtown.  Many in the state feel that this is where they belong.

One might ask, how does the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints feel about the issue.  As you now, right now the Salt Lake Temple and Temple square are in year 5 of a 7-year refurbishment.  They have said publicly on many occasions, that it is important to them that the area around the temple is clean and presentable.  Sure, Temple Square should be a shelter from the outside world, but the world near the temple should be, for lack of a better term, worthy.  They spent a lot of money to turn Crossroads Mall and the ZCMI center into the City Creek Center.  They would probably support a move to refurbish other areas downtown.  That parking lot kitty-corner to the current arena, they own that.  They would likely sell it to improve the area.  

Should you have NBA Basketball and NHL Hockey in the same venue? If you have basketball and hockey in the same arena, it needs to be done right.  If you build the arena to favor one sport, it tends to lessen the experience for the other.  There are some arenas, however, that do both right.  Madison Square Garden in New York, the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles and The American Airlines Center in Dallas are the only ones that appear in rankings near the top half for basketball and hockey.  The TD Garden in Boston and the Scotia Bank arena in Toronto are considered good basketball arenas, but so-so hockey venues.  Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit and Washington's Capital One arena are good Hockey venues that don't do basketball well.  While Denver's Ball Arena doesn't do either well.

Not every city that has both NBA Basketball and NHL Hockey play in the same arena.  Having two arenas can be a good, albeit more expensive option.  I can't find, however, where the two arenas are within blocks of each other.  Usually, they are miles apart.  The Timberwolves play in downtown Minneapolis, the Wild play in downtown St. Paul.  There are none that are even in the same city.  You could keep the Jazz downtown and allow Hockey to build in Draper.  I would support it as long as Ryan Smith does not ask for help with both.  We will only build one venue for you, man.

About the tax question.  They plan to increase the sales tax in Salt Lake City by .5%.  If you pay $10 for you hamburger, it will cost you an extra nickel to see the Jazz stay downtown.  It that too high of a price to pay?  Well, for some, any price is too high a price to pay.  It will likely be signed by the Governor and passed by the Salt Lake City council.  However, there are questions about what it could mean for neighborhoods like Poplar Grove.  Which would also be my concern.  (I will not address that in this blog post, but it is coming.)

What happens to the current Delta Center?  It will likely remain in tact until after the 2034 Olympics, should Salt Lake be chosen.  What happens afterwards depends on what option for the new arena is chosen.  There is one options where what we know right now could go sooner, but  I will discuss that below.  That does not mean it will meet the wrecking ball, per se, but it appears that come 2035, that portion of the Salt Lake Skyline will be gone.

Here are some options that are being considered for the multi-billion dollar project.  This my ranking from worst to best.

Option 3: Wreck the west wing of the Salt Palace Convention center for the new arena.  This could be take some architectural gymnastics as you need to leave Japanstreet in tact.  Out of the 10 acre block, you would only have 7 acres or so to work with.  It could be done, I think the current arena has a footprint of only 7 acres, while the other three acres are used for statues and other things.

But I think that this block, instead, could be used a a junction between the Convention part of the Salt Place and the entertainment part.  Perhaps a smaller, around 8,000 seat theater could be put here for smaller concerts, graduations, devotionals, etc.  Rather than just one hotel on this block, perhaps two or three.  I'm thinking of something similar to McCormick Place in Chicago would work here.  I don't think this is a viable option to build an arena here.

Option 2: Rebuild the Delta Center on the same site.

I thought this wouldn't be an option if the Coyotes are moved here, but using the Maverick Center in West Valley would be needed whether or not Arizona comes here.  When I say rebuild, I think of something like the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.  This would leave the outside pretty much as it is, but to redo the configuration on the inside.  This would probably lead to a lot of dust, but the end result could be awesome.  

In order for this to happen, the Jazz would need to move to temporary quarters for 2-3 years.  Of course, the Huntsman Center would be the obvious choice, but it may not be viable.  The Maverick Center could also work, but it is about half the size.  Other options would be a little way out of the city.  Like Ogden or Orem.  These are not really good options.  This option is possible, but not as realistic.  

Option 1: Build the new arena in the parking lot kitty-corner to the current.

This is the better option.  You have 10 acres to deal with.  While the Delta Center was good for the early 90s, but this time, they would need to make better use of the lot.  Perhaps one corner could have a hotel, bar, restaurant, etc that is always open.  There seems to be one corner of the current arena lot that isn't used, even during games.

I have confirmed that the land the parking lot is on is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It was part of the Triad Center deal.  Outside of arena events and General conference, it isn't use a lot.  Even less since the COVID-19 pandemic.  There are plenty of other parking lots within the UTA Free Fare Zone  Plus, a ticket on Trax is usually less than parking.  This lot could be sacrificed.

After the 2034 Winter Games, the current Delta Center could then become Church property for the expansion of Ensign College, or whatever is needed at the time.  It could also be sold to Salt Lake City to be a Salt Palace expansion, or serve as a hotel/convention extension similar to what the Hyatt Regency does at the other end.

Finally, I think that the NBA and NHL should share an arena.  The NBA only plays 41 home games a year.  Yes, there are concerts, Disney on Ice and other events there, but that might add another 20 nights of events in the City.  The NHL would bring downtown another 41 home games.  You can run a bar or restaurant when you have big crowds for only 60 nights a year.  That is only 16 percent of the time.  You have to have business on other nights as well.  If the NHL and the Jazz share the arena, you push a busy downtown to over 100 nights per year.  Plus, some of the big concert tours passing up SLC may come here.  Now you are talking business.  It makes sense to do it this way.

You also have to not have an arena by itself, you need to build hotels, provide spaces for restaurants, bars and other things that fans of the game will want to do before and after the game.  It all needs to be within walking distance, or staggering distance if you have had one too many.  Although I am not normally one to use taxpayer funds to finance a billionaires dream, this could help keep downtown vital.  If not done, Draper will get the fun.

Arenas that host both the NBA and NHL:

Considered good for both sports:
1. Madison Square Garden: New York Knicks and New York Rangers
2. Crypto.com Arena: Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers (Until 2024-'25) season and Los Angeles Kings
3. American Airlines Center: Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Star

Considered good basketball arenas but not good hockey arenas:

1. United Center: Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks
2. TD Garden: Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins
3. Scotia Bank Arena: Toronto Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs

Considered good hockey arenas but lesser for basketball:

1. Capitol One Arena: Washington Wizards and Washington Capitols
2. Little Caesar's Arena: Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings

Multi-purpose arenas that are not considered good for either basketball or hockey

1. Ball Arena: Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche
2. Wells Fargo Center: Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers
(Note: Replacement in the planning stages.)

Cities that have both an NBA and NHL franchise, but they do not share a venue

1. Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota (Timberwolves play at Target Center in Minneapolis, Wild play at the XCel Energy Center in St. Paul)
2. Phoenix, Arizona (Suns play at the Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix, Coyotes play at the Mullet Arena in Tempe)
3. Miami, Florida (Heat play at Kaseya Center in Miami, Panthers play at Amarant Bank arena in Fort Lauderdale.)
4. Long Island, New York (Brooklyn Nets play at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, New York Islanders play at the UBS Arena in Elmont) 
5. San Francisco/San Jose, California  (Golden State Warriors play at the Chase Center in San Francisco, San Jose Sharks play at the SAP Center in San Jose)

Potential NBA Expansion Cities and their plans

Likely Expansion cities
1. The New Seattle Supersonics plan to share Climate Pledge Arena with the Kraken
2. The not yet named Las Vegas Expansion team will build their own arena but may share T-Mobile arena with the Golden Knights or the Thomas and Mack Center with UNLV to start out with

Potential NHL Expansion Cities and their plans

1. Salt Lake City: Will share the Delta Center with the Jazz temporarily.  Will likely share a new, permanent arena in the future.
2. Houston: Plan to share the Toyota Center with the Rockets
3. Atlanta: Plan to build a new arena in Suburban Atlanta and will not share State Farm Arena with the Hawks
4. Quebec City: Does not have an NBA franchise

Others:

1. 2nd Toronto Franchise: Unsure about plans
2. Portland: Would likely share the Moda Center with the Trail Blazers.  
3. Cincinnati: Would need a new arena.
4. Omaha: Would need a new arena.

We want the A's in Utah, but I have conditions

 

These billboards have appeared all over the Salt Lake Valley, and everywhere between Nephi and Tremonton.  (And between Coalville and Grantsville).  I want to clarify my feelings on this.  These opinions are my own.

If the A's stop in Salt Lake for 3 seasons while waiting for a permanent home in Las Vegas as a tryout to see if we can support a permanent team.  I am supportive of that.  For the last 10 years, I have been an advocate for the homeless.  I would be a hypocrite if I said otherwise.  But what I am not supportive of is a John Fisher team making Utah a permanent home should the efforts to move to Las Vegas fail.

We have a group here in Utah that knows something about how to run a Major League Franchise, the Miller Family.  They had the Utah Jazz for 36 years.  This team missed the playoff 8 times.  That is 78% of the time, they were in the post-season. They made the NBA finals twice.  The team kept two future Hall of Fame players, two Olympians, on the team for most, if not all of their careers.  Until sometime in the first decade of the 21st Century, the Utah Jazz played in the smallest media market in all of North American Sports outside of Green Bay.  Sometime between the dot com crash, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the Housing Crash, Utah began to pass the other small markets, and is now approaching 3 million.  There are many reason why the National Hockey league is considering Salt Lake City for expansion.

But there is one warning for John Fisher if the A's end up here on a permanent basis.  You have to try to win.  If you aren't going to do that, then sell.  You will here the same refrain in Utah that you heard in Oakland, and are beginning to hear in Las Vegas.  Try harder to win.

Comprehensive List of Suggested Nicknames for the Utah NHL team

The National Hockey League may come to Utah as soon as the 2024-25 season.  But it will be soon.  I have perused the internet and social media and found what other people said should be names for the Salt Lake hockey team.  I will update this as I find others.  Here is the list.

Former/current Hockey Team Names in Utah:

Salt Lake Golden Eagles
Salt Lake/Utah Grizzlies

Native American Words:

Utah Kwana (Ute word for Eagle)
Utah Quchu (Shoshoni word for Bison)

Animals:

Salt Lake Scorpions (There are scorpions in Northern Utah.  This is my choice.)
Salt Lake Bison
Salt Lake Sidewinders
Utah Hawks
Utah Bighorn
Utah Yellow Jackets
Utah Hornets
Utah Mustangs (Either the horse or the airplane)
Salt Lake Sockeye (Alliteration, but sockeyes don’t make it to Utah. Rainbow Trout are Steelheads that never make it to saltwater.  Steelheads are taken by a hockey team in Boise)
Utah Cutthroat (Type of Trout, perhaps a little too violent, even for hockey.)
Utah Caribou (Not native to Utah, but works.)
Utah Elk
Salt Lake Stingers

People:

Utah Pioneers
Utah Copperheads (Copper miners, but could also be the snake)

Military:

Salt Lake Thunderbirds (After the Air Force Thunderbirds)
Utah Leathernecks (Nickname for Marines)
Utah Vipers (For the F-16, there are no reptile vipers in Utah.  This is the one the wife likes.)
Utah Warthogs (A-10 Warthogs)
Utah Talons (T-39, the main training aircraft)

Other Myths:

Utah Yeti
Salt Lake Sasquatch

Dinosaurs:

Utah Raptors (There is a dino called the Utah Raptor)

Weather:

Utah Blizzard

If the school needs a new head coach...2024 Edition

 I have not written in the blog this year as frequently as I have in the past.  I've had other priorities.  My career took a tumble in 2019.  I am almost back to the point where I was then.  But this is one post I do every year.  If each head coach were to be replaced, who would be the short list candidates.  Well, this is my take.

Updated February, 2024.

BYU
Current Head Coach: Kalani Sitake
Why he might leave: BYU has had their second losing season under Kalani.  He will be gone after a third.  Why take the chance?

Short list of potential replacements:
NC State Offensive Coordinator: Robert Anae
San Jose State Head Coach: Ken Niumatalolo
Defensive Coordinator: Jay Hill
Offensive Coordinator: Aaron Roderick
Southern Utah Head Coach (Former SVU Head Coach): DeLane Fitzgerald
Utah Tech Head Coach: Lance Anderson 
Snow College Football Caoch: Zac Erekson

Utah
Current Head Coach: Kyle Whittingham
Why he might leave: Time to Retire, head coach in waiting may not wait longer.

Short list of potential replacements
Defensive Coordinator: Morgan Scalley
(And that is the list)
JK
If Scalley isn't the guy...there are others
BYU Defensive Coordinator: Jay Hill
Utah State Head Coach: Blake Anderson
Utah Tech Head Coach: Lance Anderson
Montana State Head Coach: Brent Vigen
Weber State Head Coach: Mickey Mental
Montana Head Coach: Bobby Hauck

Utah State
Current Head Coach: Blake Anderson
Why he might leave: There are other jobs that pay more, a lot more

Short list of potential replacements

Montana Head Coach: Bobby Hauck
Montana State Head Coach: Brent Vigen
Southern Utah Head Coach (Former SVU Head Coach): DeLane Fitzgerald
Former Interim Head Coach (Now at Washington State): Frank Maile
Utah Tech Head Coach: Lance Anderson

As Weber State and Southern Utah both had first-year head coaches and Utah Tech is looking for a replacement for Paul Peterson, I will not include them on this year's list

Utah Valley
If they start football, who would be their first coach

New Mexico Head Coach: Bronco Mendenhall
Former Utah State Head Coach: Gary Anderson
NC State Offensive Coordinator: Robert Anae

Week 5 of College Football

 Every year, my son and I attempt to attend a home game for every Division 1 school in Utah.  We made it to Provo on Friday and our next game will likely be in Logan.  

We saw BYU's line get blown up on both sides of the football, yet come away with a win because they took care of the ball and Cincy did not.  BYU won by 8, scoring 14 points on turnovers.  The week before that, they gave up 21 points and lost by 11 at Kansas.  That is the theme of the week.

Weber State won in Greeley against the former BYU Special Teams Coordinator Ed Lamb and the Northern Colorado Bears with a pick 6 in the final minutes.

In Corvallis, both Utah and Oregon State threw an INT.  However, the Beavers capitalized on Utah's mistake, where the Utes did not.

Only the USU Aggies overcame their mistakes in getting the win in Connecticut.

Take care of the ball.  Doing so usually results in wins.  Not doing so usually results in losses.

Also of note: BYU's 4-1 feels different that Utah's 4-1

Projected Wins

BYU
Current Record: 4-1
Worst Case Scenario: 6-6
Best Case Scenario: 9-3
Most Likely: 8-4
Projected Wins: Iowa State, Oklahoma State
Projected Losses: West Virginia, Texas, Oklahoma
Toss Up: TCU, Texas Tech
Toughest Remaining game: At Texas
Trap game: Iowa State
Projected Bowl: Guaranteed Rate (Chase Field, Phoenix) vs. Purdue

Note: Take care of the football and they will pick up one or more of those unexpected wins.

Utah

Current Record: 4-1
Worst Case Scenario: 6-6
Best Case Scenario: 11-1
Most Likely: 8-4
Projected Wins: California, Arizona State
Projected Losses: Washington, USC, Oregon
Toss Up: Arizona, Colorado
Toughest Remaining Game: At Washington
Trap Game: Arizona State
Projected Bowl: LA Bowl (SoFi Field, LA) vs. Air Force

Note: With Cam Rising back, Utah could win out.

Utah State
Current Record: 2-3
Worst Case Scenario: 4-8
Best Case Scenario: 6-6
Most Likely Scenario: 5-7
Projected Wins: Nevada, New Mexico
Projected Losses: Fresno State, San Jose State
Toss Up: Colorado State, San Diego State, Boise State
Toughest Remaining Game: Fresno State
Trap Game: Colorado State
Projected Bowl: None 

Note: The Aggies may not finish above .500 this year but the future looks good through 2026 provided Cooper Legas stays healthy, does not transfer and does not leave for the NFL early.

Weber State
Current Record: 3-2
Worst Case Scenario: 6-5
Best Case Scenario: 9-2
Most Like Scenario: 8-3
Projected Wins: Idaho State, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona
Projected Loss: Idaho
Toss Up: Eastern Washington

Notes: They are fortunate to have their bye week before playing at home against Idaho.  I don't think they make the post season with the blowout loss to Montana State unless they win out.

Southern Utah
Current Record: 1-4
Worst Case Scenario: 3-8
Best Case Scenario: 6-5
Most Likely Scenario: 3-8
Projected Wins: Abilene Christian, Lincoln
Projected Losses: Stephen F. Austin
Toss Up: Tarleton State, Austin Peay, Utah Tech

Notes: SUU can still have a winning season if they shake off recent losses and be the team that played so well against Arizona State and BYU.

Utah Tech
Current Record: 1-4
Worst Case Scenario: 1-10
Best Case Scenario: 3-8
Most Likely Scenario: 2-9
Projected Wins: North Alabama
Projected Losses: Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Austin Peay
Toss Up: Eastern Kentucky, Southern Utah

Note: Rome wasn't built in a day.  It will be a few years yet before UT is competitive.  In the meantime, hit the transfer portal hard.

Controversial note on realignment.  Weber State and Utah Valley, if the Wolverines add football, are better options for FBS football than Southern Utah and Utah Tech.