Salt Lake City: Official Development News Thread - Part 5

[Orlando]

I believe that is the giant parking garage they are building for the Granary.

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by locolife

Plenty of NHL and NBA teams share venues. Boston, Denver, Dallas, Philly, Chicago, DC, New York, Toronto, LA and Detroit. FC in Phoenix isn't designed for hockey as I'm sure the Jazz stadium is not either, the Yotes did play there for a number of years until the mistake was made to move them to Glendale.

Minor detail compared to picking a team name but any word on how this stadium will get funded?

Vivint/Delta Center would not work for hockey as you can see in this photo, they can't extend the end bleachers as there's not enough room.


Wonder if you might see them be sneaky and build a new NHL arena but build it so it could accommodate NBA as well, and then eventually move the Jazz into that arena. They'd get around any backlash by leaving the Jazz where they are, for now, and then eventually move them into the sparkly new suburban arena down the road when there's nothing to stop them.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Right but we're not talking about sharing. My point was that if Smith intends to build a new arena for the NHL team, and the Jazz remain at the Delta Center, he's likely directly pitting his two franchises against each other since they theoretically could both have home games on the same night.

If he keeps them in the same arena, they wouldn't. But that means one of two things:

He renovates the Delta Center so that it's more compatible for hockey.

Or he builds a new NBA/NHL arena, which could remove the Jazz from downtown (if it's built in the south valley).

I see your points now, if he builds a new arena I think it makes sense to make it compatible for both teams and fill the place up a lot more nights. If the Delta Center is anything like the Suns arena in Phoenix, making it work for hockey basically means rebuilding from the ground up since the literal footprint of the building has to change. So not sure it's financially logical to renovate DC to properly accommodate hockey.

I always look for stadium financing approval, once it's clear how it will get funded and how much public financial support is needed then I feel like a pro sport franchise is happening. Until then, let the rumor mill run wild.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by ucsbgaucho

Vivint/Delta Center would not work for hockey as you can see in this photo, they can't extend the end bleachers as there's not enough room.


Wonder if you might see them be sneaky and build a new NHL arena but build it so it could accommodate NBA as well, and then eventually move the Jazz into that arena. They'd get around any backlash by leaving the Jazz where they are, for now, and then eventually move them into the sparkly new suburban arena down the road when there's nothing to stop them.

That is not ideal for hockey and it feels similar to the Phoenix NBA arena, just not suited and likely a nearly total rebuild to make it fit the ice properly. I hope they don't leave downtown, I'm not in SLC a lot these days but do like hangout downtown when I'm in the area and that would be a major setback to a lot of good momentum.

[delts145]

Originally Posted by Orlando

I believe that is the giant parking garage they are building for the Granary.

Thanks Orlando.

[ucsbgaucho]

Originally Posted by locolife

That is not ideal for hockey and it feels similar to the Phoenix NBA arena, just not suited and likely a nearly total rebuild to make it fit the ice properly. I hope they don't leave downtown, I'm not in SLC a lot these days but do like hangout downtown when I'm in the area and that would be a major setback to a lot of good momentum.

Yah you can see how the lower level concrete foundations start to curve before you get to the end of the hockey rink. An NBA court is 94 feet long, plus it seems an extra 15-20 feet on each end for photographers and such before you get to the first seats. An NHL rink is 200 feet long, so you're talking an extra 65 feet of length that needs to be accounted for. Obviously it's doable, and for high-end arenas like Crypto that hosts the Kings, Clippers and Lakers. Here's a great time-lapse of the Pepsi Center in Denver converting from NHL to NBA:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0tVP13mj4M

The arena is designed with NHL first, you can see them adding about 7 rows of new temporary seats at each end of the court to fill in that empty space. So Vivint obviously wasn't designed like that and with how steep those end seats are, probably no way to retrofit it for hockey.

[Comrade]

The reason the Delta Center gets as loud as it does, and has been one of the most intimidating arenas in the league is directly tied to the problem here: it was built for basketball. It's a shit concert venue and a terrible hockey venue. But it's maybe the best basketball arena in the country. It's loud with the fans sitting right on top of the court and creates a pretty compact environment for a NBA arena.

I think the only other arena like it is the one in Phoenix, which opened around the same time and, as mentioned in this thread, is not compatible with hockey, as you can see in this tiny photo from back when the Coyotes played there:

[Blah_Amazing]

It looks like 255 S State has a new name 'The Aster' as well as a new website.

https://theasterslc.com/

[meman]

Gee, do you think they were thinking of the Astra Tower when they came up with that one. Not very original!!!

[i2theSKY]

Originally Posted by meman

Gee, do you think they were thinking of the Astra Tower when they came up with that one. Not very original!!!

Very similar no doubt but Astra is definitely the better of the two names lol. Regardless of name I'm just glad that lot is finally developed!

[Rileybo]

Originally Posted by Blah_Amazing

It looks like 255 S State has a new name 'The Aster' as well as a new website.

https://theasterslc.com/

More like the “Assturd”.

[Comrade]

Still upset we lost the Rex for this.

[The Scorpion Critic]

Originally Posted by mstar

This question is for anyone that knows - Isn’t the SOHI and the West Village developments pretty close to each other? Same approximate location?

They’re right across the street from each other.

[Utah_Dave]

Hey Orlando, will the Jordan River be incorporated into the new power district as a feature? I’m curious how nice that might be.

[wrendog]

Originally Posted by Utah_Dave

Hey Orlando, will the Jordan River be incorporated into the new power district as a feature? I’m curious how nice that might be.

They'd be stupid if they didn't try to incorporate a riverwalkesque experience, IMO

[Comrade]

Interesting evolution about the ballpark and effort to get the MLB to SLC with an initial rendering of the ballpark from last year:

https://archive.md/D1Ita



The plan was initially pitched by a group called 'Salt Lake City Baseball' but they lacked investors. The Mayor initially began discussion with Ryan Smith and he seemed interested at first but as they tried to hammer down details, he basically pulled back on showing interest after Smith walked the site.

It does show there's an investment in this area but I am a bit ... nervous about Smith's commitment to the city. He kind of just stopped responding to discussions about moving forward with the proposal. I am not sure if he just didn't feel a MLB team was a viable option for him, and instead he wanted to focus on bringing a NHL team to the area, or what - but maybe I'm reading too much into things.

He is, though, now listed as a supporter for Big League Utah - but so is Burgess Owens and I don't even think he can spell Big League Utah, so, who knows what that means.

Still, I know some suggested a NHL arena could be built there but it does not come up in the article and I am not sure Smith is even interested in that site.

But I guess we'll see.

[Orlando]

Originally Posted by Utah_Dave

Hey Orlando, will the Jordan River be incorporated into the new power district as a feature? I’m curious how nice that might be.

Oh yes. We have definitely had many discussions on how to make that river frontage great.

[Utah_Dave]

Originally Posted by Orlando

Oh yes. We have definitely had many discussions on how to make that river frontage great.

Good to hear. Over the past few years Ogden has finally taken advantage of a great natural resource in the Ogden river and has been making progress with the Ogden River parkway. There is some good mixed development sprouting down near Washington Blvd while other areas are left more natural, as well as parks along the path. It’s really a hidden gem for that area. I’m not as familiar with that section of the Jordan River but I imagine it’s not utilized well for public access and land use. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s planned

[Utah_Dave]

Originally Posted by Comrade

Interesting evolution about the ballpark and effort to get the MLB to SLC with an initial rendering of the ballpark from last year:

https://archive.md/D1Ita



The plan was initially pitched by a group called 'Salt Lake City Baseball' but they lacked investors. The Mayor initially began discussion with Ryan Smith and he seemed interested at first but as they tried to hammer down details, he basically pulled back on showing interest after Smith walked the site.

It does show there's an investment in this area but I am a bit ... nervous about Smith's commitment to the city. He kind of just stopped responding to discussions about moving forward with the proposal. I am not sure if he just didn't feel a MLB team was a viable option for him, and instead he wanted to focus on bringing a NHL team to the area, or what - but maybe I'm reading too much into things.

He is, though, now listed as a supporter for Big League Utah - but so is Burgess Owens and I don't even think he can spell Big League Utah, so, who knows what that means.

Still, I know some suggested a NHL arena could be built there but it does not come up in the article and I am not sure Smith is even interested in that site.

But I guess we'll see.

After reading the article it does make you worry/wonder if gov. Cox is pushing Smith towards putting a professional stadium as an anchor for Draper prison site. Putting a pro hockey team down there wouldn’t be terrible but it could open the door for Smith to move the Jazz away from downtown and that would really be a disaster for that part of downtown. I gotta say I’m nervous about that aspect. What’s everyone’s feeling about Smiths dedication to keeping at least the Jazz downtown?

[dakben]

Schmoe, what's the timeline looking like for the crane lift? I'll get my streaming setup for interested parties.