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SALT LAKE CITY — Ryan Smith envisioned a new arena being constructed when he set out to bring in a National Hockey League franchise to Utah, but that vision hit some snags.
There wasn't much land for a new arena in downtown Salt Lake City; and while he looked for land "south" of Utah's capital, following a trend in sports of relocating stadiums to the suburbs, there wasn't much support there from state or local leaders.
Smith, who finalized a deal to acquire and relocate the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday, was left to reimagine his initial vision.
His new plan — now that the NHL in Utah is a reality — is to remodel the nearly 33-year-old Delta Center and instead focus on ways to improve the city experience around the arena. It will also keep the Utah Jazz, the other team Smith owns, in downtown Salt Lake City.
"The entrance of the experience for this downtown isn't when you come in the door, it actually starts in the blocks surrounding," he said. "That's way more important to me than building a new arena."
Remodeling the Delta Center
The switch from considering a new arena to a revamped arena started with pushback from the Utah Legislature and local leaders, Smith explained during an introductory press conference Friday afternoon. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also weighed in on stadium discussions.
But the biggest turning point may have come last week.
Smith said he was presented with a plan to remodel the interior of the existing Delta Center, which helped him stick with the new vision.
Interior renderings have not been released yet, but he said the plan would fix the arena's sight lines issues and bump the seating capacity to about 17,500 people — a significant boost from the 10,400 seats that were made available during NHL preseason games played at the arena in recent years. What's more, he said it wouldn't change the Jazz experience that much.
"We're using new technology to figure out — specifically on the ends, behind the hoops and behind the goals — to be able to turn from hockey to basketball, and back and forth," he said. "I'm actually super excited about it. I think it will be an improvement on the arena; it'll be an improvement of the fan experience."
Those adjustments would come "in relatively short order the next couple of years," according to Bettman, who has seen the proposal.
The vision, Bettman said, appears to be much less controversial than a brand new stadium, something that held up the Arizona Coyotes for years before this week's sale and relocation.
"I've been assured by a number of the local leaders that we'll have no arena drama. Based on where we came from, I'd prefer no arena drama," he said with a chuckle.
Minimal construction is expected to take place this summer to prepare for having a second home team in the arena. This would include a new locker room for the new NHL team. A genuine remodel of the arena could begin as early as next year, but that may depend on what happens between local and state leaders over the part of the project Smith says he's now more invested in.
A reinvestment zone
Friday's update comes after Smith Entertainment Group applied to partner with Salt Lake City on a downtown "revitalization" zone on April 4. It launched what will be a series of processes outlined in a bill that the Utah Legislature passed this year to set up the zone.
The legislation allows for a district of up to 100 acres in downtown Salt Lake City surrounding an NBA or NHL arena.
The group's proposal has yet to be publicly released; however, Smith dropped some hints on Friday about what is included. He said he would like to see more residential spaces surrounding the arena and more places for people to stick around downtown before or after a game.
He added he'd like to see some adjustments to existing downtown locations, such as the Salt Palace Convention Center across 300 West from the arena, so the whole area can "come flow together a little bit better."
The biggest hurdle is how it all gets funded. The bill authorizes Salt Lake City to implement a sales tax increase of up to 0.5% for 30 years within "the local government's boundaries" to help pay for projects or repay bonds used to make improvements within the district.
Salt Lake City Councilman Darin Mano said he's excited that professional sports is slated to remain in downtown Salt Lake City. He's also happy that Smith is interested in bringing in more residential spaces and entertainment options to the area, something that the City Council has looked at for years.
Yet that doesn't mean he's completely sold on approving the tax increase.
"Raising our sales tax is not a small thing, and I don't take it lightly," he said. "It's going to be really big, and I think (there are going to be) really difficult conversations."
If approved, the state would also sign off on any agreement. All of this would have to be completed by the end of the year.
Mano said he's not sure what happens if any of it falls apart.
Smith sidestepped that thought, instead focusing on the plan ahead. That plan, he said, goes beyond sports. He argues it's something that can help Salt Lake City as it continues to grow.
"This isn't about the arena. ... It's actually about having more flow, more energy, more passion, more activity, more arts, more education and being able to look back 30 years from now and saying that's the center of Salt Lake City, that's a center of Utah. That's where it starts," Smith said. "These are the things that we're needing to reimagine."
Contributing: Ryan Miller
