Again, religion played a key role in attitude. A large majority of Catholics, Protestants, those with other religious affiliation and those without religious affiliation said the malls should be open on Sunday.

LDS Church spokesman Dale Bills said the decision on alcohol came, in part, because outside developers will own portions of the new malls. Only in those non-church owned portions will alcohol sales be allowed.

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has consistently made plain that in matters of public policy it is not opposed to responsible consumption of alcoholic beverages by informed adults," Bills said. "In the downtown redevelopment project currently being planned by the church, a limited number of high-quality restaurant tenants who will operate on land not owned by the church may apply for licenses to serve alcoholic beverages in accordance with existing state regulations."

The LDS Church has previously said that Michigan-based shopping center developer Taubman Co. will help develop and partially own portions of the mall. William Taubman, executive vice president for the developer, told the Deseret Morning News earlier this year that it would be impossible to draw certain high-end restaurants to the mall unless they were able to sell alcohol.

As for Sundays, Bills said no parts of the new project will be open — even areas in the malls not owned by the church.

Mayor Rocky Anderson, who in the past has wished for Sunday openings and alcohol sales, praised the church's decision on liquor and didn't seem too dismayed with the Sunday closings.

"In a lot of large cities, Sundays are oftentimes a ghost town," Anderson said. In Washington, D.C., for instance, "things are pretty quiet" on Sunday, the mayor said.

And if the church's downtown project is closed on Sundays, other city businesses be able to draw more customers on the Sabbath, Anderson said.

"They will be cranking on Sundays," he predicted.

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E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com