salt lake city — Smith Entertainment Group is vowing to turn its downtown Salt Lake City revitalization project into a “sports, entertainment, culture and convention” district, not just a rebuild of an arena. The city is considering raising sales tax to raise funds.
The group updated the Salt Lake City Council on its plans Tuesday, but many details are still being negotiated. The City Council heard from Mike Maughan, SEG Project Lead Director, and City/County Mayors Erin Mendenhall and Jenny Wilson.
Morgan told the City Council that SEG wants to create a “flow and connection” that hasn't existed in the city for some time, as the Salt Palace separates the east and west sides of the city.
county chief @SLCoMayor reads this statement and addresses Abravanel Hall's concerns. The room is filled with symphony orchestra members wearing white tops and black pants. pic.twitter.com/a78Pq9qcpL
— Lindsay Arts (@LindsayOnAir) May 7, 2024
“The door to jazz is not open to other parts of downtown,” Mohan said, noting that the Salt Palace and Abravanel Hall are all open in different directions.
“You could say downtown is missing teeth in every direction. Our city needs braces,” he said, using the analogy of straightening teeth.
Morgan said the plan for Delta Center is to open on eastbound City Creek and “connect the whole thing.” The plan includes “revitalizing” two blocks to the east. Mr Morgan also revealed an estimate of how much SEG might invest in the project.
Local musicians react to Smith Group's proposals for the future of Abravanel Hall
“Our preliminary estimate is at least $3 billion, but we expect it to be much higher than that,” he said.
Morgan estimates that the proposed sales tax increase would generate $1.2 billion in tax revenue over 30 years. Under state law, $900 million would go to SEG to potentially be split between costs for the stadium and activation zone, but the city and SEG still need to agree on how to split it.
Morgan said the principles guiding the project include walkability, safety, sustainability, economic development that grows the general fund, downtown revitalization, community partner engagement, and sustainable, organized parking. He promised a consistent transportation plan, more art, and more. A gathering of culture and community.
“If someone came along and waved a magic wand and built the perfect, top-of-the-line arena for hockey and basketball where the Delta Center is now, and nothing else in downtown changed, we would You’re not going to do that.’ That’s it,” he said. “What we want to do here is very mission-driven to help reimagine the future of downtown Salt Lake, and we're committed to four principles: sports, entertainment, culture and custom. Masu.”
SEG is also seeking a zoning change. The city is seeking to eliminate maximum building heights in the area, and the zoning change would also include arenas, stadiums, helipads, commercial buildings and off-site parking.
Tax resources and consumption tax increase
So how will this be paid for? SEG is asking the City Council to approve a 0.5% sales tax increase, and hopes to collect the full amount over 30 years. That means if you buy $10 in Salt Lake City, your bill will go up by 5 cents.
It also seeks the possibility of setting up some form of tax increment financing to collect profits from projects that increase property values in the area to pay for improvements.