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The Salt Palace Convention Center is a significant community asset! In KSL’s view, it will be worth the cost of expanding it once again to accommodate even larger conventions, meetings, and events.
The current facility generates some $189 million per year in direct spending into the community. A consultant estimates that figure will become $229 million once the Salt Palace is expanded as proposed.
In short, the economic impact of the Salt Palace Convention Center is immense.
The latest plan to expand is driven by the need to accommodate the large Outdoor Retailer show, held twice annually. Aside from keeping that important event, a larger Salt Palace will lift Salt Lake to another competitive tier in the lucrative convention business.
Of course, no past upgrade or expansion of the facility came without concern for the money required to do it. Yet, in each instance - in 1977, 1983, 1996 and 1999 - an expansion resulted in a surge of activity. In 1996, for example, attendance at Salt Palace events jumped from 31,000 to 168,000 per year.
So, as funding options for the $52 million addition are debated, KSL encourages those charged with coming up with the money to look to the past as well as the future.
The Salt Palace, in KSL’s view, is worth its salt.
