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What would Utah be without the Jazz? No Karl Malone, no John Stockton, no Jerry Sloan, no D-Will, no Carlos Boozer, no Delta Center, now EnergySolutions Arena. They are Utah legends and landmarks.
At EnergySolutions Arena every game night is a spectacle; Fans up to the rafters, loud and proud, but what if all of this was gone.
"I'd be so sad, so sad with the Jazz not here," says Drew Johnson, a fan.
"Oh boy, it would make a big impact," says Mark Ward, owner of the subway at the corner of North Temple and 300 West.
Business ImpactGone would be the regulars.
"[Kyle] Korver comes in all the time, Tyrone Corbin, the coach, comes in and then Kosta Koufos comes in every day that there's a shoot-around," Ward says.
Gone would be the traffic, too.
"We'd just rely on the walk-by business."
"How many people actually come down this way if they're not in this area?" says Jason Kelly, manager at the Iggy's Sports Grill at 400 West and 300 South. "I really don't know how many people would know this location is here."
Jim Wood, director of the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research, says downtown Salt Lake City and its central business district would be very different without the Jazz.
| Employees | Jazz | ESA |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time | 112 | 109 |
| Part-time | 161 | 1,012 |
| Item | Spending |
|---|---|
| Lodging | $719,219 |
| Laundry | 2,541 |
| Restaurants | 966,131 |
| Other food/drink | 51,813 |
| Admissions | 18,258 |
| Recreation | 9,331 |
| Sight-seeing | 23,969 |
| Pro Sports | 770,000 |
| Shopping | 251,188 |
| Transportation | 25,007 |
| Auto Rental | 106,250 |
| Gasoline | 41,444 |
| Parking | 20,423 |
| Other | 4,090 |
| Total | $3,009,662 |
Utah Sports Commission
Working for the Jazz
Then there's the workforce. More than 200 full-timers and 1,100 part-timers now call E-S-A home.
"I know I wouldn't be able to brag about where I go to work everyday," Rich Muirbrook says. Muirbrook is the director of fan relations and youth programs for the Utah Jazz, meaning he supervises the franchise's involvement in the Junior Jazz program.
"Yeah, I don't think youth basketball would be anywhere near the same," Muirbrook says.
Professional franchises would be similarly impacted.
Standard of Success
I'd be so sad, so sad with the Jazz not here.
–Drew Johnson, Jazz fan
"It would not happen," says Jason Perry, executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development. He says the Jazz' success is the standard all other sports franchises review.
"They ask us, ‘How is this penciling out for the Jazz? How do they make it? How are they making it?'" Perry says.
Perry says the Jazz are a draw for businesses looking to make a move.
"This is certainly one of those things that people who are coming with businesses are looking for," Perry says.
Business leaders say the Jazz add legitimacy and quality of life, key in attracting new business and the franchise's value, like the mountains that surround it, priceless.
Listen to part 2 of "A day without the Utah Jazz" and find out how the NBA playoffs affect Utah's economy Friday, April 17 at 5:40 a.m. on KSL Newsradio 102.7FM/1160AM.
E-mail: aadams@ksl.com
