Salt Lake County to vote whether to sell Salt Palace portion to Smith Entertainment Group
A portion of the Salt Palace Convention Center could soon belong to the Smith Entertainment Group, as the future of downtown continues to take shape.
The Salt Lake County Council will vote Tuesday afternoon on a resolution to sell about 6.5 acres of county-owned land near 55 S. 300 West at an undisclosed price 'within a reasonable range of market value,' which will help the county fund a massive project to remodel and 'modernize' the convention center.
Discussions over a key piece of the 'sports, entertainment, culture and convention district' plan occurred earlier this month. County Council members spent over an hour in a closed session tied to the sale a day after Gov. Spencer Cox met with Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, Smith Entertainment Group representatives and state legislators over the 'Mid Block' portion of the district outside of the Delta Center, which could link the arena with the rest of the district.
Those conversations picked up after Salt Lake City leaders and the Housing and Transit Reinvestment Zone Committee each passed measures created in this year's SB26, setting up a 'funding mechanism' for the projected $1.8 billion project. Projects tied to the county account for about $1.5 billion of the total cost of redevelopment.
Smith Entertainment Group founder Ryan Smith unveiled the plans shortly after bringing an NHL team to Utah last year. It sparked a process that ended in Salt Lake City approving a 0.5% citywide sales tax to help repay up to $900 million in bonds Smith was permitted to seek toward construction costs.
County officials say selling the land is a 'necessary condition' in plans to improve the Delta Center, which is now undergoing its first remodeling phase. However, it will also provide funding for the remodeling and reconstruction of the Salt Palace, while opening up nearly $5 million in annual county property tax revenue as the land switches over to nonexempt tax status.
The sale would also help 'connect' the Delta Center, Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art and other downtown buildings, county officials add.
'Linking these assets for visitors and businesses prepares the county to host major national and international events more effectively and generate additional revenue from visitors,' the resolution states.
When it remodels the convention center, the county plans to build a second Salt Palace ballroom and new convention event spaces. It is unclear when that will happen, but according to county projections, it should generate about $11.5 million in new annual state, county, and city tax revenue.
Tuesday's meeting is set to start at 1:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on the County Council's Facebook page.
This article will be updated.
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