SALT LAKE CITY — Key players in the Utah sports universe say a recent economic feasibility study sets Salt Lake City up for success when it comes to bringing Major League Baseball to the Beehive State.
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A survey was launched in August with hopes of receiving public input on design, seating, tickets, amenities and more.
“This was at the request of Major League Baseball, which is a great sign because they wanted to have that already done and that when they formally vote for expansion, that we can give that to them,” explained Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company.
At a Silicon Slopes Summit event at the Delta Center Thursday, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall told the crowd that the results of the study show the city in a positive light.
“It’s incredibly favorable and what it demonstrates is robust economy, diverse economy, the highest income of any potential expansion market and the sixth highest in all of baseball right now,” added Starks.
Starks said a third-party group conducted the survey which had overwhelming response from Salt Lake City residents.
“We had over 15,000 respondents to that, including the business community,” he said, “They said that of all of the market studies they've ever done, they've never seen a response from a market like that in baseball.
Mendenhall spoke on the accessibility of the sport to families and how having a major league team would benefit the city.
“To zoom in on this city, we've got more kids per capita in the neighborhood of the power district,” said Mendenhall, “We have families, intergenerational families, who have helped build that community and for whom baseball has been this continuous thread through generations.”
Starks said there will be an internal company review of the study on Friday.
