The Uncommon Meeting Place: Salt Lake
Stereotypes be damned! That’s right, we said it because we live it every day in Utah’s capital city. We get it. We understand and appreciate the long-standing, though outdated, stereotypes that linger about Salt Lake. Locals and those who have visited in the last 5-10 years know Salt Lake is now a thriving urban destination teeming with activity and countless options for all to experience, most of which typically surprises many first-time visitors and changes their preconceived notions of our community.
While the towering Wasatch Mountains cradle the Salt Lake valley and offer unforgettable views and year-round outdoor recreation, the new and ever-changing landscape of downtown Salt Lake offers exciting and creative dining, nightlife and cultural arts, complementing the long-time classics that anchor Utah’s proud western heritage. With billions of dollars recently invested in Salt Lake’s convention district and downtown core—with an additional $3.6 billion going into the complete rebuild of the Salt Lake City International Airport, the nation’s #1 airport for on-time arrivals and departures year after year—Salt Lake is enjoying one of the nation’s fastest-growing economies while welcoming countless visitors for meetings, conventions and year-round leisure travel.
The state-of-the-art Salt Palace Convention Center, located in the heart of downtown and just minutes from the airport, offers 679,000-square feet of exhibit and meeting space. There are 19,000 hotel rooms in the greater Salt Lake area, approximately 7,000 of which are in the walkable convention district. Keeping meetings and conventions “green” is greatly simplified by Salt Lake’s expansive light rail system (TRAX), which includes a 20-minute ride to/from the airport and the “free fare zone” via TRAX throughout downtown and the convention district, not to mention one of the nation’s largest rooftop solar arrays atop the Salt Palace, allowing groups to offset their impact by using Solar Renewable Energy Credits.
Salt Lake itself is a metropolitan area of just over one million people and is surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery, including 21 national parks and monuments within a few hours’ drive. Salt Lake is served by all major U.S. airlines and operates as Delta’s western hub. The 700-plus scheduled daily flights combine for 50,000 seats and include non-stop service to 100 North American cities.
Utah-based companies—including the booming high tech sector dubbed “Silicon Slopes”—benefit from the low cost of doing business in Salt Lake, which is well below the national average. Salt Lake boasts a clean, friendly community that’s home to new and award-winning restaurants, night spots and brewpubs. The downtown convention district offers numerous cultural and historical attractions, such as pioneer homes, the world’s largest genealogical library, the famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the $2 billion, mixed-use City Creek Center featuring more than 100 retail outlets and restaurants directly across the from the Salt Palace Convention Center.
A proud host the successful Olympic Winter Games—with the very good likelihood of hosting another Olympics in the next decade or two—Salt Lake has grown bigger and better since welcoming the world in 2002. New to our community and cultural offerings include the Leonardo Science & Technology Center, the Utah Museum of Natural History, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the Eccles Center, a state-of-the-art, 2,500-seat theater in the heart of downtown. The TRAX light rail system continues to expand and offers a quick and extremely affordable option of getting into downtown and its convention district from the airport ($2.50).
See for yourself how Salt Lake’s exciting new shopping, dining, nightlife, and entertainment makes for a meeting destination like any other, and one that can and will definitely exceed your expectations.
