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SALT LAKE CITY — It seems it has become a bit fashionable to paint business as the source of all evil these days.
While I would stop short of declaring all businesses and business leaders worthy of sainthood, I think the vast majority get a bum wrap. Especially here in Utah.
The business community provides leadership in our state. Businesses form chambers of commerce to speak out with a unified voice on issues that matter to the economy and to the community. Just last week, the state's largest and longest-standing business association, the Salt Lake Chamber, marked its 125th anniversary. Established April 23, 1887, the Chamber has been a place where business leaders come together -- often setting aside their natural rivalries -- all in the spirit of doing something bigger than their individual mission statements.
And we all benefit because of it.
Even the biggest, most influential businesses in the state can have a more powerful voice when they work together.
As business leaders and policy makers from across the country visit Utah, they often ask about Utah's "secret sauce." Unless they've visited Crown Burger, we're pretty sure they're not talking about fry sauce. They are, instead, bewildered by both our ability to avoid the petty arguments that cripple progress and our penchant for getting things done.
Industry is part of who we are in Utah. It says so on the state flag. The symbol of our state, the beehive, suggests a spirit of cooperation, diligence and purpose. It says something that our state's largest business association has roots pre-dating our statehood.
A quick scan of our state's history finds the business community's fingers prints all over our success.
When people outside our state think of Utah, they think of snow, the Greatest Snow on Earth. In 1937, at the heart of the Great Depression, it was business that brought the first ski lift to Alta, just the second such contraption in North America. With that initial $10,000 investment and visionary leadership, Utah's ski (and now snowboard, too) industry was born.
At the time, skiers could pay 15 cents per ride or buy a day pass for $1.50. Today, skiing is a significant part of Utah's diverse economy, thanks in large part to business leaders who wanted to make Salt Lake City the winter sports headquarters of the United States.
Utah's ski industry eventually stood front and center on the world stage. The 2002 Olympic Winter Games brought thousands of visitors to our state and introduced the natural wonder of Utah to millions more watching throughout the world. Business played a role in landing the Olympics, too.
The Chamber was part of the Olympic bid effort from the very beginning in 1969, vying for the 1972 Games. While the initial goal was to get people to think of Utah when they thought about skiing the Rocky Mountains, the group continued to bid, ultimately winning the honor of hosting in 2002. No single event has ever brought more attention to our state. We reap the economic benefits of being an Olympic host city to this day.
Airport
Connecting Utah to the rest of the nation and the world has always been critical to our state's economic prosperity. The business community played a role in the development of rail lines to our state, to building the airport and to securing our status as a hub for Delta Air Lines.
Earlier this year, the reconstruction of the Salt Lake City International Airport was announced. As recently as 1930, the airport was expanded to included two gravel runways. Today we have a much better facility, but one that is at maximum capacity with little room for growth. Over the next several years, the international airport will be rebuilt to accommodate a rapidly growing population, increased business travel and robust tourism.
Roads and Rails
Today, the business community continues to push for investment in our mobility infrastructure. UTA is in the final stages of a plan to build 70 miles of rail over seven years, and will likely finish a few years ahead of schedule. That plan includes a TRAX line connecting the airport to downtown and the entire rail system.
UDOT is putting the finishing touches on the I-15 CORE project, the largest state-funded road project in the history of the state. The Salt Lake Chamber has played a critical role in the rapid expansion of our mass transit options and business leaders are committed to continued investment in building and maintaining our roads and rails.
Basketball Business
While we are all watching the Jazz take on the Spurs in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, it is worth mentioning the role the Salt Lake Chamber played in bringing the Jazz to Utah. The Chamber decided it was time to Salt Lake City to become a major league town. Knowing Sunday NFL games would be a challenge, and not being large enough for a Major League Baseball franchise, then Chamber President Fred Ball and the Chamber chairman at the time, Wendell Ashton, who was also the publisher of the Deseret News joined Mayor Ted Wilson to search for the least supported and least unsuccessful team they could find.
That team was the New Orleans Jazz.
At the time, the Jazz played in the cavernous New Orleans Superdome, which seated 50,000 fans. That was plenty of room because the Jazz had a season ticket base of just over 1,000. Ball and Ashton returned to Utah and sold 6,000 season tickets, holding the money in escrow. Their success was perhaps partly due to the buy-one-get-three- free offer. Their efforts ultimately persuaded the ownership to move the team.
Of course, business giant Larry Miller played a well-known and remarkable role in keeping the Jazz here and building the EnergySolutions Arena.
Today, business leaders are working to contain skyrocketing health care costs, to invest in the future workforce of our state, to bring new businesses and industries to Utah, and to address issues including energy development, immigration and transportation.
Utah would be a very different place today without a business community willing and eager to make a difference. It's part of what makes our state great and something we can all be proud of.
