SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would provide some taxpayer dollars toward helping to build a Major League Baseball stadium has cleared the legislature and is headed to Governor Spencer Cox's desk.
On Wednesday morning, the Senate voted to pass House Bill 562, which would dip into sales taxes generated from the Larry H. Miller Company's multi-billion dollar development plans for lands across from the Utah State Fairpark. The state of Utah will own the land the stadium itself sits on.
Where the House had to tweak the bill to win support from rural Utah lawmakers (it originally proposed raising the hotel tax), the Senate was largely enthusiastic about the bill. Senate Minority Whip Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, noted she had constituents concerned about the tax burden, but she believed it was an investment in the Fairpark neighborhood.
Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, argued that no taxes get used until Salt Lake City actually lands a baseball team and the taxes generated from the development feed into the stadium. The bill also dips into an income tax on visiting player salaries. There is a 1.5% increase on the state rental car tax paid for largely by tourists.
Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, appeared to get emotional on the Senate floor as she described how much it will positively benefit her community (her district includes the Fairpark neighborhood).
"We've been waiting for this for decades," she told reporters after the vote, referencing economic development potential in the area.
A separate bill to create a "sports and entertainment" district in downtown Salt Lake City to support a National Hockey League arena is expected to be voted on in the House of Representatives on Thursday. It passed the Senate on Tuesday night.
