New downtown music venue receives mixed reactions from Salt Lake community

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Big changes are on the way for downtown Salt Lake City as Smith Entertainment Group, in partnership with Live Nation, has unveiled plans to build a new 6,000-capacity indoor music venue. The announcement has drawn both excitement and concern from local residents and venue operators.

The venue is slated to host approximately 200 events each year and would become a centerpiece of a new entertainment district next to the Delta Center. The project involves demolishing part of the current Salt Palace Convention Center, with construction expected to begin after 2027.

“This is the number one target that we want in downtown Salt Lake to activate our community,” said Ryan Smith of Smith Entertainment Group during a press conference on Tuesday. “The draw to downtown is something I think we truly have needed down here.”

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Smith Entertainment Group said the venue is part of a larger $3 billion investment in downtown revitalization. Public funding will also play a role, with taxpayers contributing $600 million toward the arena and an additional $300 million to help build out the entertainment district.

While city leaders and developers tout the project as a game-changer for downtown’s economic and cultural landscape, not everyone is convinced it’s the right move.

Andrew Earley, Executive Director of AMPP Utah, an alternative arts and music program that runs hundreds of shows annually at their downtown venue The Beehive, expressed reservations.

“Having more arts and programming is a good thing,” said Earley. “But I think a route of adding a 6,000-cap venue to a city that has a lot of existing, and some struggling venues is not the way I would go about it.”

He fears that large-scale commercial development could siphon attention and funding away from grassroots arts organizations.

“It’s not building our arts community — it’s profiting off our arts community,” Earley added.

Local residents had mixed reactions to the new venue announcement.

So far, Smith Entertainment Group has not directly addressed concerns from smaller venue owners. KUTV has reached out to several other local venues for comment but has not yet received responses.

Whether this new music venue becomes a cultural cornerstone or a commercial challenge to Salt Lake’s grassroots music scene remains to be seen. For now, the project is still in its early stages, with demolition and construction set to begin no earlier than 2027.

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