Salt Lake City baseball backers want to build a stadium-village.
There seems to be some sort of deadline for the Larry H. Miller Company and Salt Lake City elected officials to get an agreement by year’s end to build a baseball stadium-village. There is a 93-acre tract of land presently available that could house the stadium and village. Major League Baseball has no plan to expand anytime soon. The Larry H. Miller Company has renderings of a ballpark that would serve as the centerpiece of a $3.5 billion stadium-village called the Power District. The company has put out the usual “economic and cultural catalyst for the state and the westside community” claim and is ready to put a shovel in the ground.
“We are passionate about this once-in-a-generation opportunity to invest in our capital city,” said Steve Starks, the CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company. “This project will serve as a vibrant extension of and gateway to downtown Salt Lake, complements the mission of the State Fairpark, and brings the Jordan River to life. The Power District will be a gathering place for Utah’s families to live, work, play and enjoy the best views in Major League Baseball.” The Miller Company needs a government handout to help pay for the construction of the stadium-village and there does not seem to be a government funding mechanism yet. Utah Governor Spencer Cox is in favor of tax increment financing, a gadget that allows some of the taxes collected inside an area to go into the pockets of the developer. The governor said that he might support raising the hotel tax in Utah and he added that “discussions and negotiations” are ongoing now. No sports owner builds a venue as a gift for a community. If no deal is reached by year’s end, the land might not be available for the stadium-village. The Utah stadium game is going on.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
Propsed Salt Lake City stadium.
