Panelists at the recent Sports Tourism Summit discuss the future of sports facilities in the Salt Lake Valley. They are (from left) moderator
Walter Franco of Victus Advisors, Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski, Kevin Bruder of the Maverik Center and Utah Grizzlies, Gavin Gough of the
University of Utah, and Carina Nelson of Miller Sports + Entertainment.
SPORTS TOURISM SUMMIT
Brice Wallace
The past three decades or so have seen sports venues sprout from the ground up in the Salt Lake City area. The building of the Delta Center, what is now Smith’s Ballpark, the Maverik Center, additions to Rice-Eccles Stadium, America First Field.
But prepare for another building burst as the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club get a renovated Delta Center in the middle of an entertainment district in downtown Salt Lake City, the UHC practices at the Shops at South Town in Sandy, and baseballs fly at a new ballpark for the Bees in South Jordan and also at a new park for the University of Utah.
And that’s not even considering the possibility of Salt Lake building a stadium for a Major League Baseball team.
That whirlwind of activity was the focus of a panel discussion at the recent third annual Sports Tourism Summit, presented by Sports Salt Lake, a division of Visit Salt Lake.
“I think it’s clear … this is really a mecca for sports tourism and this is a sports community here in Salt Lake specifically — a lot of exciting things on the horizon with the Delta Center, with the new NHL facility, with the Maverik Center, with the University of Utah and with the upcoming field at Daybreak,” panel moderator Walter Franco, a principal and research director at Victus Advisors, told the crowd at the Mountain America Exposition Center in Sandy.
Franco noted that the Salt Lake area is part of a national trend: destination developments that are anchored by sports venues but offering lots of options for entertainment, dining, gathering, businesses and even housing.
“Long ago is the time where you would see specific indoor venues that cater to just one type of sport,” he said, with the current projects aiming to be for multiple sports, multiple events and for multiple generations of people “so that it’s being used all day to maximize and thus reducing costs for facility owners and operators.”
The new Bees ballpark at Daybreak will be a multi-use facility surrounded by an entertainment district. Carina Nelson, vice president of operations and corporate events for Miller Sports + Entertainment, described the under-construction stadium as “a beautiful facility with state-of-the-art technology that will create experiences for families, friends and fans alike, 365 days a year.”
For example, premium field-level seats will be closer to the catcher than the pitcher. That, along with club spaces and communal areas, “will be a place where people want to gather,” she said. The stadium will have a smaller seating capacity than Smith’s but technologies will provide “an elevated experience” for fans, she added.
A short distance away, The Shops at South Town will be transformed into a two-ice-sheet practice facility for the Utah Hockey Club but also for youth and adult leagues and be a magnet for people interested in hockey, according to Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski.
“They’re going to come to Sandy from all over,” she said, envisioning that they also will find Sandy attractive enough for them to eventually build a home, buy a car and build a business there. “So, the economic impacts are immeasurable from where we sit right now,” Zoltanski said.
Already, current mall shop owners are “thrilled” about the development. “They know it’s going to be an economic catalyst for our whole city, the economic vitality and the economic renaissance in Sandy,” the mayor said. “It’s going to help our existing businesses in the mall and will help revitalize the whole mall area. … I couldn’t be more pleased as mayor.”
Being multi-use has been a hallmark at the Maverik Center. Built for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and the Utah Grizzlies, it has since hosted 2,700 events and 11 million people, including at other sports games and a slew of concerts.
The UofU baseball park likewise will be multi-use, with community organizations able to play at the park, according to Gavin Gough, associate athletics director for facilities, operations and capital projects at the university.
But after having the Utes play at Smith’s Ballpark for years, the university “had an opportunity to bring baseball home,” he said, adding that it was not fair to the UofU’s players to have locker rooms, practices and games at three locations. Now they will have not just a field but also amenities and technologies — “all the things that we need to be able to recruit and then develop those players,” Gough said.
That park is among other athletic facility changes that could be on their way. He provided no details but said the university has “a lot of opportunities in front of us” to improve or relocate sports sites. “It’s an exciting time to be at the University of Utah,” Gough said, “so we’ll enjoy the ride while we’re at it.”
The 2034 Olympics also could spark some changes at the various sports venues in the Salt Lake Valley. Kevin Bruder, general manager of the Maverik Center and CEO of the Utah Grizzlies, said the arena likely will need improvements but facility officials first need to validate their ideas before any construction occurs. Gough said the Rice-Eccles Stadium might add seating as it prepares to host the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics.
Other locations that will not host Olympic sports will try to get involved in other ways, as Zoltanski said Sandy wants to host incoming teams and visitors, be a gathering space for them, host concerts and entertainment and perhaps be a medals ceremony location.
But until then, Sandy wants to capitalize on the community enthusiasm for sports and eventually have the area be a destination with restaurants, hotels, businesses, pro shops, team shops and entertainment options.
Zoltanski said the UHC team has created excitement about NHL hockey in Sandy and throughout the area. She was at the Delta Center when the team had its home opening game “and when the men had that first goal, I thought the roof of the Delta Center was going to blow off,” she said.
“The energy, that shared experience, that common enthusiasm, something to get behind and be proud of in the winter months — NHL hockey is going to be great for Utah, it’s going to be great for Sandy. We’re already feeling that intense enthusiasm, like, ‘Let’s get this going, like, yesterday in Sandy.’ … So, community engagement is everything. It all starts with community.”