Proposal to Remake Salt Lake City Convention Center Stirs Controversy

By Jonathan Trager

A proposal from the mayor of Salt Lake County to divert millions of dollars in transportation funds for a Salt Palace Convention Center rebuild has met with pushback from some local leaders.

The Salt Lake County Council voted 7-2 on November 5 to allocate $10.5 million to explore a convention center renovation using money from a transportation fund. The idea is part of the revitalization project in downtown Salt Lake City with Smith Entertainment Group.

However, local news outlet KSLTV reports that Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson is calling for a rebuild, a project that could cost north of $1 billion.

“There’s an opportunity on the table to not just rebuild what we have, but rebuild it better so that we can attract even bigger and better conventions and hopefully grow that revenue stream by tens of millions of dollars more [annually],” said Andrew Roberts, Chief of Staff for Wilson, according to KSLTV.

The 4th Quarter Transportation Fund, generated by a 0.25% local option sales tax for transportation, currently contains $58 million. The county would still need to obtain permission from the legislature to divert the funds into something other than transportation projects.

Among those opposing the idea of a rebuild are County Councilman Sheldon Stewart, County Councilman David Alvord, and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who argue that money should be limited to its intended use.

Riverton is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area.

“We need transportation dollars to be used for transportation and not for the construction of buildings or demolition of buildings, and so I really want to encourage the county to reconsider this,” Staggs said, according to KSLTV.

When USAE asked Visit Salt Lake for comment on the matter, the destination organization responded that Salt Palace is a county-owned property so the news outlet would need to speak with the county.

Liz Sollis, Director of Communications for Salt Lake County, told USAE the renovation concepts currently being considered don’t involve a knock down of the facility but rather remaking half of the building called the west end.

“We know that with the interest in creating a more vibrant sports enter culture and convention district we need to look at the layout of the Salt Palace,” she said. “We’re going to get some concepts and then we’ll start looking at further discussions.”