The Larry H. Miller Company is studying Sandy's Cairns District for long-range development, and the city is bracing for a surge of convention traffic when the Salt Palace closes for three years starting in fall 2027.

Those signals emerged at the fifth annual Sports Tourism Symposium, held at America First Field on Monday, Aug. 24, where Mayor Monica Zoltanski, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Larry H. Miller Company executive Amanda Covington outlined how Sandy's four professional sports teams and near-capacity convention center position the city for growth ahead of the 2034 Winter Olympics, the Sandy Journal reported.

"We've got the teams, we've got the land, and it's exciting to see it coming together," Zoltanski told the crowd. "A lot of the elements have positioned Sandy as the go-to city for sports investment."

Covington, the company's chief corporate affairs officer, said the firm has studied strategic locations in Sandy and the Cairns District for long-range plans. She said the Larry H. Miller Company has been working closely with the mayor on her vision for the convention center and sports tourism, calling it "a multigeneration vision for this community and the state."

No timeline was given. No formal application for Cairns District development was announced.

Convention center nearing capacity

Wilson said the Mountain America Expo Center generates more than $27 million in annual economic impact locally, a figure she said surprised her. The facility is almost always booked to capacity, and officials have discussed a possible expansion, including a large ballroom, though nothing is in the planning stages.

Wilson said she wants the center to shift toward youth sports development events. "Rather than more hot tub sales or gun shows, do more and more related to sports development," she said. "I think that's really the direction we should be going."

Salt Palace closure looms

The Salt Palace Convention Center will fully close in fall 2027 for a three-year, $1.8 billion redevelopment that includes a new downtown sports and entertainment district. Zoltanski said many displaced events will land at the Mountain America Expo Center, and the city has long-range road plans to handle the added traffic. Sandy's FrontRunner, TRAX and UTA bus lines connect residents and visitors to the venue area.

2034 Olympics context

The symposium included sessions on the road to the 2034 Olympic Winter Games, the evolution of Real Salt Lake and why Salt Lake is becoming a destination for women's sports. Speakers included Olympians Kaysha Love, Casey Dawson and Jaelin Kauf, along with RSL legend and U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame member Nick Rimando.

Two days before the symposium, Utah 2034 CEO Brad Wilson said at a separate Aug. 22 press conference that the organizing committee's first community impact program would partner with Miller Sports + Entertainment on Utah Youth Sports Giving Day, a statewide campaign running Sept. 12-26 aiming to raise $3 million for youth sports nonprofits. As we reported Aug. 23, Sandy nonprofits can tap $1.5 million in matching funds through that initiative.

Zoltanski pointed to a horseshoe pitchers association competition at the expo center the previous year that drew thousands of competitors from across North America as proof of what sports tourism can deliver for Sandy.

No Sandy City Council meeting has been scheduled to consider a Cairns District development proposal.