Smith Entertainment Group shares vision of a renovated downtown and Delta Center to host NHL

The Smith Entertainment Group revealed more details of its plans to revitalize Salt Lake City’s downtown to accommodate its new National Hockey League team, including the project’s location and the company’s intent to renovate the Salt Palace Convention Center.

The area the company is expecting to tackle is primarily three blocks; the Delta Center’s block and the two blocks east of the arena that lead toward City Creek, Mike Maughan, the principal from Smith Entertainment Group who will lead the revitalization zone project, said in a presentation to the Salt Lake City Council on Tuesday.

The path to fund and approve the downtown revitalization and renovations to the Delta Center to host NHL games is moving fast on the City Council. The city’s legislative body is expected to give the final nod to a citywide 0.5% raise in sales taxes before Sept. 1. 

“The money from this tax, should the council approve it, some of that will, of course, go to help the renovation of the Delta Center to fit hockey into the arena,” Maughan said in his presentation, sitting between Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. 

The size of a hockey rink nearly doubles a basketball court, he said. But, a lot of the money will go to the development of the new downtown district, which the developer estimates will have a substantial economic impact.

Smith Entertainment Group has preliminarily estimated that it will invest at least $3 billion in the downtown area, but Maughan anticipates that figure will be much higher, he said.

“As we’ve run a new total economic impact report on the NHL, it’s estimated that the NHL alone will bring an additional $288 million of economic impact into Salt Lake City,” Maughan said, citing a Kem Garden C. Gardner Institute study.

During the presentation, Maughan shared an aspirational rendering of the area that Ryan Smith, who owns Smith Entertainment Group with his wife Ashley Smith, posted on social media back in February as he was pursuing acquiring an NHL team.

Downtown Salt Lake City is the heart of Utah. Our efforts are not about an arena, it’s about revitalizing a downtown that desperately needs investment. Imagine a downtown experience like this with the NBA / NHL at its core. pic.twitter.com/w2Qzxf17gs

— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) February 27, 2024

Though the rendering of the vision for the revitalization zone is not final, it shows that some of the walls from places such as the Gateway and the Salt Palace are expected to be torn down to “restore connectivity and flow, reuniting the east and west sides of downtown,” according to Maughan.

That flow also means improved walkability, safety and sustainability, he added.

The presentation comes after the Utah Legislature’s approval of SB272, a bill that carved a path for Salt Lake City to increase sales taxes for up to 30 years to raise about $1 billion to partially fund the redevelopment project in an area of up to 100 acres adjacent to the Delta Center. 

“It is our identity as Salt Lakers to be the cultural core, the economic pillar. And it is right for the state of Utah to ensure that that remains and is strengthened,” Mendenhall said about the plans on Tuesday. “These partners want to see that happen.”

Some questions remained unanswered after the presentation — the definitive fate of Abravanel Hall, which hosts the Utah Symphony, and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, in addition to the planned changes for the Salt Palace Convention Center. 

“The vision for a revitalized project is in the earliest stages and no decision on the future of Abravanel Hall has been made,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said, reading a statement. “And the Utah Symphony, Smith Entertainment Group and the Mayor’s Office are committed to working collaboratively towards the mutual goal of ensuring that Salt Lake City continues to enjoy the highest quality symphony hall that meets the needs of its professional musicians and community.”

Though there’s still not a decision on those buildings, Maughan said the Smith Entertainment Group would want all of them on site.

“This is a sports, entertainment, culture and convention district. Two of the most important elements of our culture and arts programs here in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, in the state of Utah and this region are those,” Maughan said, “and we want them on site and want that to be very clear, unequivocally.” 

However, Maughan added, Abravanel Hall is in need of maintenance and the Salt Palace Convention Center, which is owned and operated by Salt Lake County, is poised for renovations to update its amenities.

“The hall that we have right now is not the hall that we need for the convention spaces of the future,” Maughan said, “with more meeting rooms, additional ballroom space, etc. That will allow us to capitalize so much more on the conventions that could be coming here.” 

All of these renovations are important as these buildings draw many to downtown, he said. About 76% of the most visited days in the neighborhood had an event at the Delta Center and 72% had a convention, with some of those days overlapping.

Since Salt Lake City is the preferred host of the 2034 Olympic Games, there have also been conversations about placing the event’s medals plaza in the revitalization zone to accommodate many spectators downtown. 

Now, the city and the developer are ready to listen to what Utahns think about the project. On Wednesday, the Smith Entertainment Group is scheduled to release a survey to choose the new NHL team’s name, Maughan announced, and the City Council will listen to public comments on the project on May 21.