CAPITOL HILL—Salt Lake City has 10 years to prepare for a likely Olympic Games and on Friday, state lawmakers ended their annual legislative session by firing the starting gun, passing a bill that could lead to a new arena for the Utah Jazz, a professional hockey franchise and, potentially, rebuilds of downtown landmarks like the Salt Palace and Abravanel Hall.

Bipartisan majorities in both legislative chambers voted to approve SB272, which allows Salt Lake City to establish a “city revitalization zone,” supported by a 0.5% increase to the city’s sales tax. That effort would also leverage considerable private investment from entities like the Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), which owns the Jazz, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which holds several key properties in the downtown area.

“Hockey and basketball happen to be a part of that, but that’s where the focus really is—on rebuilding our downtown,” said House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper.

The vote on the downtown revitalization bill came only days after passage of companion legislation creating a land-use district around the State Fairpark and the Power District, which will redevelop the sprawling Rocky Mountain Power campus in the west side Poplar Grove neighborhood. The area is set to benefit from some $3 billion in private investment by the Larry H. Miller Company, which is actively seeking to bring Major League Baseball to the state.

“It pays for itself,” Schultz said. “If baseball doesn’t show up then the money doesn’t happen. If baseball does show up, it’s baseball that pays for baseball.”

Gov. Spencer Cox said the two bills create the opportunity for a major transformation of the state's capital, which he suggested could make Salt Lake one of the most iconic cities in the country. And the changes envisioned in the legislation are likely to accelerate with or without the addition of new sports franchises in the state, he said.

"Right now [downtown] is not very walkable and friendly and it’s kind of cordoned off and that could all change in a powerful way," Cox said. "I think when people see the vision there—it’s not just about helping a billionaire with an arena. It’s so much bigger than that."

Cox also credited lawmakers with finding a way to largely shield taxpayers from the costs of standing up new sports and entertainment districts. While the downtown revitalization bill includes an optional sales tax increase within the city, the bulk of public funding for the two proposals come in the form of increment financing and other post-performance incentives that capture economic activity within the districts themselves.

"The narrative around hockey and baseball didn't match the reality of what is happening out there," Cox said. "Unless you live in Salt Lake City or visit these places, you’re not going to be paying a dime more in taxes."

In a joint statement released Friday, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Ryan and Ashley Smith of SEG said the state has a “seminal opportunity” to re-imagine downtown, and that forthcoming plans will seek to generate a vibrant and fully activated city center tying together amenities like Jazz games, Broadway productions, concerts and the anticipated Olympic Winter Games.

“A thriving state needs a thriving downtown in its capital city,” the statement read. “With today’s passage of the Capital City Reinvestment Zone bill, we are poised to invest deeply in Salt Lake City’s downtown experience.”

Asked for clarification about the city's plans, including whether the Salt Palace is likely to be rebuilt or reconfigured, Mendenhall said her administration will be working with "teammates" like the state, county, Miller group and SEG to build a legacy that uplifts the community for years to come.

"The Legislature's action to invest in the capital city is only the first pitch in a game that we're committed to playing for an entire season," she said.

The two sports district proposals came to dominate the back half of this year’s 2024 legislative session, which began in mid-January and opened with controversial debates around the use of public restrooms by transgender individuals and the banning of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, or DEI.

Those efforts were opposed by Democratic members of the House and Senate, with House Minority Leader Angela Romero suggesting last week that the 2024 session was among the most partisan she had ever seen.

"Who's going to really want to come to Utah?" Romero said. "I'm seeing some of the legislation coming before us and it really frightens me.”

Romero noted that while her caucus disagrees with the more stringent proposals from their Republican colleagues, they also appreciate a good working relationship with House leadership. And Schultz echoed that sentiment on Friday, saying that representatives try to maintain a collaborative approach even while representing the wishes and needs of different constituent groups.

“We try to be open, we try to be fair,” Schultz said. “You look at the majority of the bills passed this year and most of them were bipartisan.”

While not specifically referring to the bathroom and DEI bill, Schultz said he was comfortable with the laws produced through legislative deliberations.

“I think that the majority of Utahns appreciate those bills that we passed,” Schultz said.

Schultz praised the work of lawmakers in addressing many of the state’s priorities around water, housing, energy and transportation. He noted that the state is facing a shortage of housing that has driven up costs, and said the work of lawmakers this year will encourage cities to allow more housing to be built, while helping developers to pencil out the labor, material and infrastructure costs that have held back projects from advancing.

“Now they will have more tools in their toolboxes to accomplish the needs of the state,” Schultz said.

He also defended the decision by lawmakers to clarify that the daily calendars of elected officials are not subject to public records requests. Utah news agencies are currently engaged in litigation and seeking to secure the calendar of Attorney General Sean Reyes, but Schultz said the longstanding intent of the law was to shield those types of records from public scrutiny.

He said that records requests have been submitted for not just past calendars but also future calendars, creating a scenario where a lawmaker’s whereabouts are known to bad actors, without the aid of security personnel.

“Some of the ladies in our body receive some of the most death threats,” Schultz said. “It is a safety issue and it’s important.”

Housing affordability was a top priority for Cox, whose budget recommendations heading into the session sought large appropriations around attainable housing and homelessness services. While lawmakers did not match the numbers sought by Cox, they did boost the funding for those areas in the final days of the session and passed a package of bills aimed at helping to get more housing units built and to help first-time home-buyers secure housing.

Cox said lawmakers provided the necessary funding and policy to move those initiatives forward, and he said he's heard from city leaders who are encouraged about the potential to increase the housing supply in their communities.

"The NIMBYism isn’t as strong when it comes to starter homes—single-family, detached, owner-occupied housing," Cox said, referring to the acronym for "Not In My Backyard" that refers to reflexive opposition to new homes, and particularly apartments. "I think a year or two from now, we’re going to come back and see that this program changed the industry and changed the course of history for our state and our ability for our kids and grandkids to own homes again."

Mendenhall expressed similar praise for the efforts of lawmakers to fund not just housing affordability, but also services for the unsheltered.

“The additional funds approved for the statewide homeless system and a new low-barrier shelter will allow our most vulnerable populations to access more beds and resources that are desperately needed," Mendenhall said. "The City will keep advocating on a state level for sufficient ongoing funding streams and more deeply affordable housing."

Cox took a somewhat atypical approach to controversial bills this year, signing them into law immediately after their passage rather than waiting until after the session had concluded. He elected to sign the bathroom and DEI bills in January, only four days after their final votes in the House, and signed the calendar privacy bill the day after it cleared the Legislature.

On the timing of his signatures, Cox said that he had been involved in the negotiations of those bills, was familiar with their content, and felt there was little benefit to waiting when he could sign them and move on to other things.

"Governors don’t stay in office long or get their initiatives done by vetoing a whole bunch of veto-proof majority bills," he said. "I’m going to sign some bills I don’t love. Every governor does."

Cox is running for reelection this year and facing challenges to his right. The election-year dynamics as well as his apparently shifting attitudes on LGBTQ representation and diversity efforts have generated criticism from moderate and left-leaning voters.

Asked about how four years as governor—he previously served as lieutenant governor—had changed him ahead of this year's gubernatorial contest, Cox said that he has a greater desire to tackle "the big stuff" like housing attainability and homelessness, and that he better understands the dynamics of working with partners like the Legislature, Salt Lake City and other state players.

"My understanding that I am going to have to give on some things I don’t love—that’s also changed," Cox said. "I’m much more practical now than maybe I was four years ago."