Oct 15, 2026 · 10 min
Smiths tie Delta Center renovations to Salt Lake redevelopment
SBJ Morning Buzzcast: October 15, 2026
The project shows how sports ownership is expanding beyond venues to shape downtown investment, entertainment infrastructure, and local economic growth.
- 1Ryan and Ashley Smith are planning a four-block, 35-acre downtown Salt Lake City development tied to Delta Center renovations.
- 2A proposed 6,000-seat music venue would broaden the project from arena investment into a larger entertainment district.
- 3The development reflects a wider model in which sports investments help drive urban redevelopment and economic growth.
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The proposed 6,000-seat music venue crystallizes how the Smiths’ arena plans extend into a wider downtown entertainment district.
The brief
Abe Madkour opens with Ryan and Ashley Smith’s plan for a four-block, 35-acre development in downtown Salt Lake City, connected to renovations at the Delta Center.
The proposal reaches beyond arena upgrades: a planned 6,000-seat music venue would add a major entertainment component to the downtown project.
The episode frames Salt Lake City as part of a broader shift, with sports investments increasingly serving as engines for urban redevelopment and economic growth.
The central question is whether modern sports ownership is now defined not only by teams and venues, but by the city-building ambitions surrounding them.
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