Salt Palace bookings soar

In the four months since the Salt Palace expansion project was announced, the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau has booked an estimated $214 million worth of convention business.

To keep the momentum building, SLCVB chief executive Dianne Nelson Binger said Wednesday the bureau will ask the Utah Legislature for $5 million annually for the next 10 years to fund the second phase of the Salt Palace expansion, which the bureau estimates will result in more than $72 million annually in direct visitor spending.

Prior to the SLCVB annual meeting Wednesday night, Binger told the Deseret Morning News that the expected legislation likely will include "some type of hotel/transit/room tax increase" to fund the expansion. Alan Dayton, a consultant to Salt Lake County, has been contracted to work on draft legislation.

"They're keeping it pretty close to the chest," Binger said. "Right now there is no bill numbered. But I have been assured that people are working behind the scenes."

Meanwhile, work on the first phase of the expansion project continues, Binger said. Construction is under way on an underground Salt Palace parking facility that will add 400 stalls — accessible by 300 West — to the existing 600 stalls off 200 South.

The expanded underground parking will be beneath the exhibit hall floor, Binger said. Phase one, which will cost $15 million and is funded by Salt Lake County, will be complete this summer in time for the Outdoor Retailer summer trade show in July.

Phase two of the project, which will cost an estimated $43 million, will commence when the show concludes and be completed by August 2006.

In all, 2004 was a positive point of departure for the tourism industry in general, and for Salt Lake City in particular, Binger said.

"Last year was a great year," she said. "It was a very good year for the booking department, which booked 400,000 hotel room nights for future years, which was the best booking season since 2001. It was a good year in terms of the number of convention delegates hosted last year, which was our best year excluding 2002, the Olympic year. It was also a very good year for tourism bookings.

"It has taken awhile for the tourism industry to recover. But it looks like we've finally turned a corner. Things are looking up."