Sandy is embarrassing the county. Building a broadway theatre in this sprawling suburb is a ridiculous notion. Anyone who has visited a major city will understand. In regards to tourism, nobody plans a trip to Chicago and then spends that vacation in Aurora. In regards to business, I don't mean offense, but conservative little Sandy would only sell the Lion King and Wicked. Everything else would flop. In regards to common sense, Salt Lake is the capitol. It's where the airport is, and the transit hub. it is the heart (and apparently the brains) of the county and state. Lets not repeat the Real Stadium fiasco. Put the theatre downtown, where it should be, and Dolan, keep your fingers our of Salt Lake's cookie jar.

first

I am tired of things being down in Salt Lake City where the traffic and parking are impossible. Maybe it would be great to have it out it Sandy if they provide good parking

They are quite unfamiliar with the arts.

Since when did the county have a mayor? And if SL City wants its own 'big stage'... be the first.

It would be great if Sandy came up with some original ideas rather than stealing everyone's else's. And, in response to Dennis's comment, Salt Lake County has had a mayor since the form of government changed a decade ago.

Sandy is shapeless assortment of strip malls, chain restaurants, car dealerships, and Ivory Home subdivisions - far from being an ideal site for a major arts & cultural facility. The idea makes about as much sense as building an int'l airport in Orem.

SLC is the sensible and appropriate location for this type of facility. Mayor Dolan knows this as well as anybody, so he should just BACK OFF and be grateful to have a MLS franchise coming to town.

Apparently those that oppose did not read the article. The developer wants to build the theater in Sandy. If Salt Lake is the perfect place, why didn't the developer contact Salt Lake City?

Because the developer doesn't have the land in SLC, and cant build the rest of his development in SLC. SLC doesnt need this guy to build a theater.

Without a vibrant downtown or center of the region, we lose vibrancy as a region. If we spread everything out we lose the synergy that is created with mixed uses, etc. Dolan has been doing back door politics long enough. It's time to stop this corruption. There are more lobbyists at the State legislature than there is for SLC. Why? Let's give the county and salt Lake City priority, and stop the shennanigans of Dolan and his greedy and foolhearted cohorts.

All right Becker, we all know this theater should be downtown- lets see what you got.

Wow - you guys are real winners.

The gems:

“Building a broadway theatre in this sprawling suburb is a ridiculous notion. Anyone who has visited a major city will understand.”

Well if this complex is built, it will have a higher density.

“In regards to tourism, nobody plans a trip to Chicago and then spends that vacation in Aurora.”

Nobody travels to Utah for its arts scene, but people DO travel to Utah for our ski scene, which is closer to Sandy than to downtown.

“In regards to business, I don't mean offense, but conservative little Sandy would only sell the Lion King and Wicked. Everything else would flop.”

Well then let’s regard this as establishing a new mission in hillbilly country and let’s all go out to save their souls. Salt Lake City already has the Capitol Theatre, the Rose Wagner PAC, Abravenel Hall, Pioneer Theatre, and several smaller venues. There is no reason to add another.

I would not for a second begrudge Sandy a theatre. However, the planned broadway style theatre should be established downtown in conjunction with the new push for downtown residential, the incredibly important national convention industry, and the soon to be completed City Creek Center. I am hoping that Salt Lake's new Mayor will work more amiably with the City Council and State Legislature in finally bringing this particular sized theatre to reality.

I'd much rather see a theatre like this in Salt Lake than in Sandy too, but if we don't want to see it scalped from underneath us by Tom Dolan and his henchmen, Salt Lake needs to get its act together and step up.

I don't blame Sandy for seeking more amenities. Of course they should. Salt Lake City needs to stop the infighting and work together towards a common goal. If they want that theatre district, quit talking about it and start offering developers enough incentives to get the theatre built. There have been plans for a theatre like this (and refurbishing the Utah Theater, and others) for decades--it's time SLC stopped wishing and started working.

"I would not for a second begrudge Sandy a theatre. However, the planned broadway style theatre should be established downtown in conjunction with the new push for downtown residential, the incredibly important national convention industry, and the soon to be completed City Creek Center."

And I don't begrudge Salt Lake City for seeking the theatre, but let's not deny the obvious: getting the theatre for SLC instead of Sandy isn't about anyone's best interests but the residents and business owners of Salt Lake. Businesses will see their receipts increase, the city will see its tax revenues soar, and SLCers will have easier access to yet another taxpayer supported theatre.

The downtown boosters aren't doing it for the general public interest, or out of the goodness of their hearts - they're doing it to pad their bank accounts.

I hate this "everything should be downtown" business. What rubbish and nonsense. I see no reason why every cultural ammenity should be in downtown Salt Lake (but funded, of course, by everyone else). Make some of these places more accessible to the rest of us who pay taxes in Salt Lake County.

The above comment and the one who complained about no parking in downtown are shortsided and they probably don't get out too much and see what other cities are doing! It is critical that we centralize this kind of project and put in downtown. Sandy and the suburbs should get there proportion of amenities, definitely. But, Sandy is not the heart of the region, nor is it the cultural, and economical center of the region. The more Sandy pursues these goals the more downtown begins to suffer and degrades, and we become an unsustainable centerless sprawl! Open your eyes suburbanites and do what is right for the region by allowing the center to not degrade, but be vibrant!

Dolan had this in his backpocket when he was vying for the real stadium. He even pitched this big mixed-use project, bigger than the gateway, to the County and it backfired on him. So, he has deliberately been quiet about this until the controversy about the stadium died down. He's a dishonest, ingorant, and greedy politiciam who thinks that his Job is to promote Sandy at any cost, and even at the cost of of degrading our center of the region(downtown slc)! State Legislaturists, please do not back up Dolan again because you don't like Rocky or the minority democrats who back up salt lake city!

"The above comment and the one who complained about no parking in downtown are shortsided and they probably don't get out too much and see what other cities are doing!"

Which cities? I've been to several cities where everything wasn't "downtown."

And I actually get out quite a bit - I'd get out even more if theatres were more accessible, as I suspect would many of my neighbors.

"It is critical that we centralize this kind of project and put in downtown."

Why? Salt Lake City isn't particularly central to the Valley's population. Any business that relies on actual customers (rather than subsidies) knows this. That's why so many of the car dealerships aren't in SLC anymore. That's why the new gigantic IHC hospital isn't in SLC.

"Sandy and the suburbs should get there proportion of amenities, definitely."

OK. What amenities would you give us? And when?

"But, Sandy is not the heart of the region, nor is it the cultural, and economical center of the region."

You're basically saying that Sandy SHOULDN'T have amenities because it DOESN'T have amenities. We won't have more until we get more.

Continued:

"The more Sandy pursues these goals the more downtown begins to suffer and degrades, and we become an unsustainable centerless sprawl! Open your eyes suburbanites and do what is right for the region by allowing the center to not degrade, but be vibrant!"

It's funny - you deride the suburbs for being boring and being nothing but sprawl, but then when a suburb tries to build amenities you say they can't do that.

"[Dolan's] a dishonest, ingorant, and greedy politiciam who thinks that his Job is to promote Sandy at any cost,"

Yes, in fact, promoting Sandy IS his job. Just like promoting SLC was Rocky's.

"and even at the cost of of degrading our center of the region(downtown slc)!"

How will a theatre in Sandy degrade Salt Lake?

"State Legislaturists, please do not back up Dolan again because you don't like Rocky or the minority democrats who back up salt lake city!"

That's what you get for electing politicians the majority doesn't like. Diplomacy is a big part of politics. Your last mayor was an ACLU lawyer, and the new one ain't much better. Would legislative Republicans rather support a project that benefits their own? Democrats certainly would.

If the theater ends up in sandy it is because they are smarter and wanted it more than slc, period. In addition this would not even be an issue and the Utah Theater would have been renovated years ago if the subsidy dependent Pioneer Theater, Opera, Ballet and Symphony had not whined about how it would hurt them. Maybe Sandy shoyld get this project and leave downtown to the dinosaurs....