Salt Palace

This article is about the convention center in Utah. For the demolished arena of the same name, see Salt Palace (arena). For the former Manchukuo imperial residence, see Museum of the Imperial Palace of Manchukuo.

Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center
Main entrance on West Temple in 2024
Location	100 S West Temple Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Coordinates	40°46′1″N111°53′42″W / 40.76694°N 111.89500°W / 40.76694; -111.89500
Owner	Salt Lake County
Built	1994–1996
Opened	February 1996 [1] [2]
Expanded	1999–2000 [3] 2005–2006 [4]
Construction cost	$93 million USD
Enclosed space
• Total space	987,000 square feet (91,700 m2) [5]
• Exhibit hall floor	515,000 square feet (47,800 m2) [5]
Public transit access	Temple Square station
Tenants
(of previous building at this location) Utah Stars (ABA) (1970–1975) Utah Jazz (NBA) (1979–1991) Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) (1969–1991)

The Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center, more commonly known as the Salt Palace, is a convention center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Named after Utah's 11th governor, Calvin L. Rampton, the moniker "Salt Palace" was previously used by two other venues in the city.

The convention center was opened in February 1996, after two years of construction. The building was used as the Main Media Center during the 2002 Winter Olympics and is used for regular conventions held in the city, such as FanX, RootsTech, and the Outdoor Retailers convention.

Previous Salt Palaces

First Salt Palace (1899–1910)

Postcard of First Salt Palace

The original Salt Palace was built in 1899 under the direction of Richard K.A. Kletting, architect, and owned by John Franklin Heath. It stood on 900 South, between State Street and Main Street in Salt Lake City. The Salt Palace was a frame structure covered by large pieces of rock salt, which gave it its name. The Palace had a large dome and was lit at night with hundreds of light bulbs. The building held a theater and was the centerpiece of an amusement park that included a dance hall, a bandstand, a bicycle racing track, rides, and other amusements. The Salt Palace and some of the other elements of the park were destroyed by fire on August 29, 1910. ^[6]

Second Salt Palace (arena) (1969–1994)

Main article: Salt Palace (arena)

The second Salt Palace in Salt Lake City was in use from 1969 to 1994, hosting among other events the home games of the Utah Stars and Utah Jazz basketball teams, and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles ice hockey team. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation Tour became the fastest sell-out in Salt Palace history. Tickets for the June 18 concert were sold out in a record 1 hour and 20 minutes after the box office opened. A 1991 concert by rock band AC/DC resulted in three deaths and many injuries when the audience rushed towards the stage and trampled or trapped people. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]} This version of the Salt Palace was demolished in 1994.

Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center (1996–present)

Interior photographs

Conference room hallway

Interior of the east entrance

Ground was broken for the current Salt Palace on April 27, 1994. ^[11] Built on the site of the demolished arena, ^{[note 1]} the current convention center boasts 515,000 square feet (47,800 m²) of exhibit space, 164,000 square feet (15,200 m²) of meeting space including a 45,000-square-foot (4,200 m²) grand ballroom, and 66 meeting rooms. The Salt Palace served as the Olympic Media Center during the 2002 Winter Olympics. ^[13]

In honor of the "founding father" of Salt Lake's convention and tourism business, as well as Utah's proactive economic development efforts, the Salt Lake County Council voted to officially change the name of the Salt Palace Convention Center to the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in the fall of 2007. ^[14]

FanX, the biannual comic book convention, has been held at the Salt Palace Convention Center since September 2013. An annual family history and technology conference known as RootsTech is also held in the Salt Palace.

A Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox News was scheduled to take place at the Salt Palace Convention Center on March 21, 2016. The event was cancelled after Donald Trump said he would not participate and fellow candidate John Kasich said he would not debate without Trump. ^{[15] [16]}

A small public park formerly occupied the southeast corner of the building's lot, but was closed in 2020 to build an attached hotel. The 700-room hotel, known as the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City, opened in October 2022. ^[17]

Solar panels

On May 24, 2012, a 1.65 MW solar array was completed on the roof. Covering an area of 3.85 acres (15,600 m²), at the time it was the largest solar array in Utah. It is expected to provide 17% of the electricity used by the Salt Palace. ^[18]

Notes

1. The second Salt Palace's exhibit addition—above 200 West and along South Temple—was not demolished, but was integrated into the third Salt Palace. ^[12]

References

1. Salt Lake Tribune Editorial Board (February 10, 1996). "The New Salt Palace". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. p. A10.
2. Rosetta, Dick (February 11, 1996). "A Striking Debut: Bowlers Inaugurate New Salt Palace". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. p. B1.
3. Edwards, Alan (June 10, 1999). "Firm finds no fault, so Salt Palace job restarts". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
4. Nii, Jenifer K. (August 5, 2006). "Bigger, better Salt Palace". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
5. "Salt Palace Specifications". VisitSaltLake.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
6. "Salt Palace now in ashes". Deseret Evening News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). August 29, 1910. p. 1.
7. Israelsen, Brent; Bauman, Joseph (January 20, 1991). "Police probe 1 death, injuries at Salt Palace rock concert". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. A1.
8. Rogerson, Kenneth S.; Adams, Brooke (January 22, 1991). "Concert Stampede Claims BYU Student as 3rd Victim". Deseret News . Salt Lake City. p. B1. Archived from the original on February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
9. Gross, Jane (January 25, 1991). "Surge of rock fans; then death, grief and anger". New York Times. p. A16.
10. Funk, Marianne (December 17, 1992). "Families Settle Suits Over AC/DC Concert Deaths". Deseret News . Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
11. Costanzo, Joe (April 28, 1994). "Ground Gives Way for New Salt Palace". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
12. Knudson, Max B. (July 17, 1994). "New Facility Will Be a Palace Indeed". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. Retrieved April 21, 2024. The finished structure will total 793,298 square feet when connected to the existing exhibit space on South Temple.
13. "Salt Lake City, Utah Tourism". Visit Salt Lake. July 21, 1998. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
14. ""Salt Palace to add Rampton's name," Deseret News, September 26, 2007". Nl.newsbank.com. September 26, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2014.
15. "Fox News to host March 21 Republican presidential debate". Fox News. March 14, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
16. "Debate canceled after Donald Trump says he won't show in Salt Lake City, Kasich too". Salt Lake Tribune. March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
17. "Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City Officially Debuts as the First Hotel Connected to the Salt Palace Convention Center" (Press release). Hyatt Hotels Corporation. October 18, 2022. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
18. Bella Energy completes largest solar array in Utah

External links

• Official website

Preceded by Louisiana Superdome	Home of the Utah Jazz 1979 – 1991	Succeeded by Delta Center
Preceded by Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena	Home of the Utah Stars 1970 – 1975	Succeeded by last arena