Jazz Owners Announce Plans To Build Music Venue In Downtown Salt Lake City

Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), a Utah-based sports, entertainment, real estate, and technology investment group owned by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, is planning to build a new venue for concerts and other events in downtown Salt Lake City as part of its “entertainment district.”

Jazz, Mammoth Owners Partner With Live Nation Entertainment

SEG, which also owns the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, announced Tuesday that it is partnering with Live Nation Entertainment to build a state-of-the-art facility.

SEG expects it to hold approximately 6,000 seats, and the group says it will host around 200 events each year, including 100 concerts.

“Both SEG and Live Nation will be committing considerable financial investment into the development of this venue,” SEG CEO Ryan Smith said.

“This is the first of many announcements as we continue to work at attracting the best and most influential brands in the world to invest in our state.”

According to Spencer Burt of Fox 13 Salt Lake City, SEG said the venue will be built in the 6.5-acre mid-block area between the Delta Center and the Salt Palace Convention Center. The group said it plans to start demolition of the existing structures on that site in early 2027.

“We have seen the incredible impact hockey has had on downtown, bringing hundreds of thousands of more people to the City and spurring amazing economic growth for downtown businesses,” Smith added.

Project Will Be Live Nation’s Only Large Indoor Venue In Salt Lake City

Per Belle Fraser and Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake City Tribune, this project will be Live Nation’s only large indoor venue in the Salt Lake City area, making it the perfect spot for up-and-coming artists.

“Lots of artists can play arenas. Some can play 200 seats. But there’s a big middle ground where they can’t quite sell out the arena at 15,000 — so they want to find that venue of 5,000 or 6,000. So it opens up a whole new avenue of artists,” said Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino.

Earlier this year, Salt Lake County approved the sale of a large parcel of the Salt Palace Convention Center to SEG for $55.4 million.

SEG announced that its Delta Center renovation plans will include a $525 million contribution from Salt Lake City that’s being funded by a 0.5% sales tax increase approved by the city council.

Phase one of the Delta Center’s renovation began after the Jazz and Mammoth ended their respective seasons in April. The project is currently focused on a retractable seating system in the lower bowl.

SEG said the Delta Center will continue to host larger capacity concerts of up to 19,000 attendees.