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.