[Utah_Dave]

While maybe the Zoo isn't all that feasible, I like where your heads at. Salt Lake needs some sort of attraction downtown other then a shopping center or mall. I don't think we will ever get the same kind of night life and vibe as some of our larger neighbors like Denver and definitely not Vegas but I think we can create our own identity and build on the recreation theme of the State by building a world class Gym/recreation center in the downtown area. At one point envision Utah had it as a bullet point in its vision and I think now would be an excellent time to move on a project like that. I could see the LDS church playing a role.
And when I say gym, I don't mean just some equipment and a work out area. I'm talking a mix of indoor and outdoor activities possibly mixed with some large open green space areas or at least adjacent to some existing green space. If you could show the big 5 national parks and a world class gym/recreation center on a national advertisement campaign I think it could generate some buzz even nationally and give outsiders a different perspective of our unique little city. i think a project like this would do wonders in drawing people downtown, especially the younger crowd.