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In spite of a difficult economy, a Broadway-style theater in downtown Salt Lake City is "practical and achievable." That's according to a special committee that is ready to start talking about a viability study about theater they've been working on.
There is a big push for a Broadway theater, and the Downtown Theater Action Group wants it in downtown Salt Lake City. The group says Utahns already love Broadway plays, but producers don't bring most productions here because there isn't a facility big enough.
The group also says that a new facility would work best if it compliments the other construction in downtown Salt Lake City. "To me, it is essential that this theater get constructed, and that it get constructed in the heart of what we are trying to improve and develop in our community," said Bill Becker, Broadway producer and consultant with the Downtown Theater Action Group.
Becker, who's also Mayor Ralph Becker's brother, led the study and talked about where such a theater might go. The top picks include the site of the old Utah Theatre on Main Street -- more room could be acquired from next door. The old Newspaper Agency Corporation building across the street is another choice and could include access from Regent Street.
Other suitable sites are the parking lot behind the Peery Hotel on Pierpont, the parking lot across from the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, lots on Main Street and 500 South, and another one along 200 South between 500 West and 600 West. All have access to parking and public transportation.
"We have an incredible wealth of tradition and interest in attending the arts, participating in the arts and keeping the arts alive," Becker said.
The group estimates the theater would cost more than $81 million to build, with a combination of public and private money. It would mean more than $22 million a year to the local economy and could create jobs from the more than 175,000 people a year attending the shows.
This committee wants the city to wrap up the land acquisition part of the deal as quickly as possible. Theoretically, construction could begin in a matter of months they say.
E-mail: rpiatt@ksl.com
