According to a new bill that passed a Senate Subcommittee, the state Legislature, with support from Salt Lake City Mayor Mendenhall, would create a new separate NHL arena in Salt Lake City.
[https://www.ksl.com/article/50887025/utahs-nhl-dream-downtown-salt-lake-city-hockey-arena-could-cost-taxpayers-1b](https://www.ksl.com/article/50887025/utahs-nhl-dream-downtown-salt-lake-city-hockey-arena-could-cost-taxpayers-1b)
In short, the bill would have Salt Lake City raise its tax rate by 0.5% to pay a $1 billion NHL arena over 30 years ([https://le.utah.gov/\~2024/bills/static/SB0272.html](https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/SB0272.html)). The tax would only be on Salt Lake City residents. This is in conjunction with another bill ([https://le.utah.gov/\~2024/bills/static/HB0562.html](https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/static/HB0562.html)) that would create a bond the state would pay for, to fund a portion of the River Walk by Jordan River area for the new MLB stadium.
This affects the Jazz because the state is specifying the NHL arena to be downtown, and the Jazz won’t move south to rebuild a co-NBA and NHL arena. The bill’s sponsor Rep McKay said “Here we have an Olympics knocking at our door in 2034. We have the NHL and we have the NBA who want to be downtown and Major League Baseball is going to be right close by”.
The Utah Senate President Stuart Adams said the state wants a Salt Lake City sports district, with the NBA, NHL, and MLB teams all connected and to be close to one another. The article talks about how the state will look at what buildings near the Delta Center for an NHL arena. The state would either have to buy out buildings, have some donated to them by the LDS church, or use eminent domain to get enough property.
I know this is a basketball thread, and not a political one, but the bill’s language is a little broad, and says “Qualifying local government to levy a sales and use tax within the local government’s boundaries and for use within the project area”. The language could be applied to another local government, but the Legislature is dumping all the money and long-term planning into downtown.
The bummer (depending on where you live) is that the tax is only for those who live in Salt Lake City. With support from Legislative leadership and the Salt Lake City government leadership, it does seem that this bill and the tax will pass.
The end result appears to be that the Jazz remain in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
by Gbhinks13
1 Comment
So… ballpark NHL area?