by Two Sisters Collective 
Salt Lake City took a big step Tuesday toward giving downtown an extreme makeover.
The seven-member City Council unanimously endorsed a participation agreement with Smith Entertainment Group to create a sports, entertainment, culture and convention district that would keep the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club in the Delta Center.
“We do big things here in Salt Lake City. This is the next one,” said Council Chair Victoria Petro, noting she first became aware of the city during the 2002 Olympics when she lived on the East Coast.
The agreement comes with a .5% increase in sales tax in Salt Lake City — from 7.75% to 8.25% — generating an anticipated $1.2 billion over 30 years, $900 million which would go to SEG to renovate the arena, the surrounding plazas and the district. The company estimates it will spend $525 million to remodel the Delta Center to accommodate hockey and basketball and $375 million on the other district improvements. SEG intends to invest $3 billion of its own in the project.
The city will now pass the agreement to the Capital City Revitalization Committee, a five-member panel formed by the Utah Legislature that’s tasked with considering the lengthy document in a public meeting within 30 days of receiving it. The committee will either accept the agreement as is or send it back to the council for revisions, which would trigger more negotiations with SEG. If the committee approves, the agreement would be returned to the City Council for a final vote. The council would then have until Dec. 31, 2024, to adopt the sales tax increase for the project and authorize the mayor to sign the agreement.
In a joint statement following the vote, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall and SEG executive and project principal Mike Maughan thanked the council for its “support of this vision that will create a more activated, connected and family-friendly future for Salt Lake City. There is a lot of work ahead, and we look forward to continued collaboration with government and community partners as we collectively reimagine a downtown urban core that will benefit residents and visitors for generations to come.”
The participation agreement is the result of numerous hours of negotiation between the city and SEG. Council members noted Tuesday vote was the first of many to come.
“This is a good agreement that brings good things to the city,” Petro said. “Our partners have made good faith responses every time we’ve brought them something, including literally last night at 9 p.m. asking them for just a few more assurances.”
Petro also recognized the immensity of the project, saying she’ll probably never again deal with something “that not only has this many commas and zeros associated with it but also has the chance to transform a piece of property that is sitting economically fallow.”
“I don’t want to confuse big and scary with impossible and wrong,” she said.
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The SEG proposal, which covers a three-block area, includes reconfiguring the Delta Center entrance to face east and taking 300 West underground to build a plaza extending east to connect to the Salt Palace Convention Center, Abravanel Hall and the rest of downtown. The project also includes construction of a high-rise apartment building, hotel and commercial, retail, and office space.
The City Council will hold a public hearing next month on proposed zoning changes, including raising the height limit for buildings from 125 feet to 600 feet.
SEG is pursuing an agreement with Salt Lake County for the two blocks east of the arena, including the convention center and symphony hall, which are both managed by the county. According to the participation agreement, SEG has until July 1, 2025, to secure a lease on that land.
The company estimates the Delta Center remodel to be done in 2027 and the first phase of the entertainment district to be complete in 2028. The second phase would extend to 2033, which SEG has said would include the Salt Palace and Abravanel Hall. Residents who spoke at the council meeting pleaded for the preservation of Abravanel Hall.
Council member Chris Wharton said it’s now up the county and state to continue the momentum to connect the other puzzle pieces. The agreement, he said, “preserves all options for connecting to an artistic and convention space in our cultural core.”
The agreement includes the creation of a community benefit fund from fees SEG would attach to ticket sales for basketball, hockey and other events, ranging from $1 to $3 per ticket depending on the ticket price, starting in July 2025. The city would use the money for affordable and family-sized housing, a Japantown streetscape project and public art, the latter two getting $5 million each. The housing would not have to be in the district. Other public benefits that SEG would provide include workforce training and development, a college internship program, a high school mentor program, youth athletics programming in Salt Lake City and free or subsidized tickets to both NHL and NBA games for residents and organizations in the city. The agreement stipulates that the basketball and hockey teams play all their homes games in the Delta Center.
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