Ryan Smith’s latest vision for downtown Salt Lake City is about more than just a new look around the Delta Center. It’s a full-scale rework of the area, one that Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group say will turn the city’s core into a true entertainment district ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics.
Smith unveiled the plans in a video with Salt Lake City mayor Erin Mendenhall and Salt Lake County mayor Jenny Wilson, showing off new graphics for a revitalized downtown hub. The project carries a price tag of more than $3 billion and is expected to wrap up before the Olympics.
At the center of it all is the land between the Delta Center and City Creek, where the Salt Palace Convention Center currently creates a barrier between two major downtown destinations. SEG wants to tear down that divide and replace it with a walkable connection that links the arena side to the shopping area.
Right now, that stretch also includes 400 feet of active loading docks, which Smith said drags down the experience for anyone coming through the area. The overhaul will swap that out for retail, office space, streetscape and murals.
“That's not a great experience for everyone who's coming in,” Smith said. “We're removing these 400 feet, and we're replacing it with retail, with office, with streetscape, with murals.
That'll be another great experience coming up 100 South. It's truly a place for families and people to gather, and that's going to be something that everyone can participate in.”
The new walkway is only part of the plan. A 6,000-seat Live Nation concert venue is already part of the project, and Smith expects it to host 80 to 120 concerts each year.
The district is also expected to include several local iconic brands, a hotel, housing and restaurants. Smith even posted a poll on X a couple of days ago, asking residents which local restaurants and shops they want to see there.
Other pieces of the overhaul include a renovated Salt Palace, which will be able to host multiple conventions at once and will serve as the main hub for the 2034 Winter Olympic Games. Abravanel Hall, home to the city’s symphony, is also set to be renovated and paired with a new art museum.
The Delta Center will be part of the transformation too. Its main entrance will shift to face the entertainment center, creating one continuous path through the district. That change was already part of the arena renovation plan when the entertainment district was first announced.
Mendenhall said the Mammoth, Jazz and other events at the Delta Center generate $970 million annually for Salt Lake City’s economy, with that money flowing back into infrastructure, essential city services and roadwork.
Construction on the entertainment center is scheduled to start in February and finish before the Olympics in 2033. Smith said the goal is to put Salt Lake City in the same conversation as other major entertainment and tourism destinations. If the city eventually lands an MLB expansion team - something the source notes seems more likely every month - that case gets even stronger.
“This is a place you'll come visit with your family, hang out in the entertainment areas, watch games outside, eat at great local and new restaurants, and take in the new core of Salt Lake City,” Smith said.
The Delta Center recently completed the second phase of renovations this past summer and is expected to finish after next summer. The entertainment district is the latest major project Smith has taken on since buying the Mammoth, following the completion of the team’s new practice facility in Sandy, which was recently renamed the Select Health Ice Center.
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