[ad_1]
Utah has high hopes for sports in its state capital. There is a strong desire to hold the Olympics again. Blueprints have been drawn for a potential stadium for Major League Baseball. And now the state has found a way to fund a new arena that could host the Utah Jazz and National Hockey League teams.
Salt Lake City The state could impose a 0.5% sales and use tax increase in Salt Lake City to fund construction of a stadium, along with up to 50 acres of sports and entertainment area to host franchises in the downtown area. Article with SB272Capital City Reinvestment Zone Amendment, sponsored by Sen. Dan McKay (R-Riverton).
McKay told reporters Thursday that the levy would raise about $1 billion over 30 years. The Senate Ways and Means and Taxation Committee voted unanimously to recommend the bill for full consideration in the Senate.
McKay said the location of the district is still unclear and a decision for the city and Smith Entertainment Group, the Utah Jazz’s parent company, to make. However, there are opportunities to improve the area surrounding the Delta Center and expansion to the west side of the Salt Palace Convention Center.
The west side of downtown is “not as much of an economic bastion as the east side,” McKay said. Changing this situation would require “a dramatic change in the landscape” of downtown.
“We’re looking at whether we can expand it. So when we look at the amount of resources, there are a lot of existing buildings and facilities that are already in the area that need to be reused or demolished. ,” he said. “A lot of things have to change for that environment to work.”
In his presentation to the commission, McKay asked them to consider the project as part of a broader vision for the city.
“I hope people don’t think of this as a grant, but as an investment in the future of Utah’s economy,” he said. “The difference with investment subsidies is whether taxpayers get a return. That return comes in the form of amenity-rich urban centers that retain and continue to attract talent.”
The city government would have to approve the tax. The city council would then have to approve a resolution designating the project area as a “public infrastructure district,” something the city said it was willing to do.
“What this bill enables will be truly transformational for Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County and the state of Utah,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall told the committee Thursday. “Not only will it transform the delivery of arts and entertainment, it will reconnect what we do.” Connecting the east and west sides of the city to the downtown core, improving the convention industry and welcoming the world. ”
Mendenhall said the bill not only respects municipal government’s role in land-use decisions, but also builds on redevelopment tools the city has been experimenting with, so the bill could be used as part of transformational projects in the city. It should be considered as a model for how to do this, he added.
“This will keep the elected leaders of Salt Lake City residents in the driver’s seat of governance and tax policy, while ensuring that Smith Entertainment Group is building the cornerstone of the future of entertainment for our city and state. “We have the power to do that,” she said.
Ryan Smith, CEO of Smith Entertainment Group, said during the committee hearing that the opportunity to host multiple sports downtown could be transformative for the city.
“What this bill allows us to do is create an experience not only inside the arena but also outside the arena,” Smith said. A country that’s ready for the Olympics, a great country for all ages and families to come and get to know the heart of the state we love. ”
Congress released the bill a day after another bill was unveiled. major league baseball plans Part of the funding for the team stadium was through hotel and rental car tax increases.
McKay said tax increases are a way to make both projects viable.
“We didn’t want to pile on Major League Baseball or other taxes, and we didn’t want to pile them on and make it a less livable environment for the people who pay the taxes,” he said. “At the same time, sales tax was something that we weren’t taking advantage of, but it provided an opportunity for all of us to achieve very similar investments in a very easy way. ”
Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, a West Side resident, said she’s excited about the potential for improvement in the area, even if it requires the landing of an MLB team for that to happen.
“We want Fair Park to continue to be successful,” she said. “But right now there is a criminal element in the Jordan River region of the West, and no one is going to clean it up. And if putting $3 billion into that area changes things… , and I want to make that happen in my district.”
She said this is not just about teams coming to the city, such funding will directly impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
“There’s a connection to services, homelessness and public safety efforts, and the west side of Salt Lake City is going to have a direct correlation to the level of investment, because if you’re going to invest $2 billion, they’re going to Because I want the place to be clean,” she said. she said. “And that’s just a benefit to our community.”
Rusty Cannon, president of the Utah Taxpayers Association, said during a public comment hearing that the organization is neutral on the bill. He acknowledged there are benefits associated with this investment, but it won’t be free for taxpayers.
“It’s starting to overlap and we’re at or nearing a tipping point where we need to recognize the competitiveness of downtown Salt Lake City relative to the rest of Utah and the rest of the country,” he said. Told. Possibility of tax increase.
[ad_2]
Source link
