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SALT LAKE CITY — Dee Brewer's mind races back to 1993 when he's asked about how important it is to host an NBA All-Star Weekend.
When the festivities rolled into Salt Lake City 30 years ago, city and state leaders were in the process of approving plans for facilities as they aspired to host a Winter Olympics, crews were working on adding a second runway at Salt Lake City International Airport to accommodate growth and the downtown Salt Palace was under a massive renovation.
Salt Lake City and Utah had big plans.
Brewer, executive director at the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, believes the 1993 NBA All-Star Game served as an early catalyst that set those plans into motion. The city's population is now the largest it has ever been and its skyline continues to grow taller with it.
"You could look at this point in the mid-1990s as where the ascension of Salt Lake City really got steeper," he told KSL.com.
As the festivities return this month, some things seem to never change as Salt Lake City and Utah make even bigger plans. Efforts to host yet another Winter Olympics are underway, construction to add more gates at a completely new Salt Lake City International Airport is ongoing and city and county leaders celebrated the end of a massive expansion to the Salt Palace, with a new hotel opening a few months ago.
Can lightning strike twice? Brewer believes so.
"I think we're at another one of those steep increases," he said. "We are becoming a big city. Some will lament that, some will fight but you can't argue with the demographics that we're growing very quickly. ... The All-Star game, I think, really shines a light on Salt Lake City that illuminates so much of the good that is happening here."
The economic impact of an NBA All-Star game
Hosting the NBA All-Star game is a big deal. Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith told members of the media that the weekend has the potential to draw more than 120,000 people and bring an economic impact of nearly $250 million, including $141 million in direct spending.
That's what happened when Cleveland hosted the sporting event last year, according to a report compiled by Temple University researchers after the fact.
If Utah is able to replicate those numbers, it would be about 10 times the size of the Outdoor Retailer Snow Show projections last month. It would also have a larger economic impact than the Sundance Film Festival did in 2020, prior to the COVID-19 impacts on the annual winter event.
The Temple University study also found the game served as a major advertisement for Cleveland, resulting in 11.9 billion media mentions in January and February, worth about $50 million in marketing value. In essence, hosting the game — and related events — is one giant ad for Salt Lake City and Utah.
"We couldn't be more excited," Smith said. "This is a really important moment for our state to shine ... and we're ready for it."
Getting creative to promote the region
Most of the events — from the game itself to the skills challenges and celebrity game — are organized by the NBA. There are a few other events also hosted by the NBA or by various private groups.
But there are also steps being taken to promote local businesses, too, amid all of this. Some of the area's local restaurants will host events for the players and executives, while the arena food will spotlight some local fare, including CupBop Korean food, J. Dawgs' hot dogs and milkshakes from Iceberg Drive Inn, in addition to the dozens of chefs brought in by Salted Honey Hospitality.
"This is going to be a very big week for businesses downtown, for shopping, for dining and social economy at large," Brewer said.
In the meantime, the nonprofit Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance is coming up with its own creative ideas to build on the spectacle surrounding the game. City leaders see it as a chance to pitch Salt Lake City to the world as it becomes a bigger name in it.
This is a really important stepping stone. We have a platform where people are going to see Salt Lake City in a way they haven't seen it before.
–Dee Brewer, executive director of the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance
One is "CENTRAL," a free event at Gallivan Plaza from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the night of the All-Star Game itself. The event features local art, music and food. They are also backing a program that places musicians, comedians and magicians on Utah Transit Authority TRAX trains as they run downtown during the weekend.
"We design experiences that leave people feeling happier and more connected to those around them," said Bahaa Chmait, director of JOYMOB Events, which is helping organize the entertainment.
UTA previously announced that service will be free from Sunday through Feb. 21 because of the traffic anticipated for the events. The agency will also run 24-hour green line TRAX service from the airport to downtown Salt Lake City from Tuesday through Feb. 21, along with additional train and bus service.
Carlton Christensen, the chairman of the UTA board of trustees, explained last month that UTA decided to implement those temporary changes in an effort to "support the community (and) boost Utah's economy" by making transit more accessible for visitors.
The Gateway — located across the street from Vivint Arena — is also putting on several events, including Grit Rail Jam snowboarding competition, a Shop Salt Lake City pop-up retail venue and the Cactus Jack Concert Series, curated by star rapper Travis Scott. It's meant to keep people in and around all the basketball action.
It's a week that could change how people view Salt Lake City and Utah, and lead people to want to come back to visit a ski resort, travel to a national park or enjoy events in the downtown core as the city continues to grow, Brewer said. It can also show what Salt Lake City and Utah have to offer as they seek to host the Winter Olympics again in either 2030 or 2034.
"This is a really important stepping stone," he adds. "We have a platform where people are going to see Salt Lake City in a way they haven't seen it before."
In that way, it's almost like 1993 all over again.
Contributing: Ryan Miller
