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.
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