Downtown Alliance | Salt Lake City, Utah

The Gateway. Redefined.

Thursday, 23 August 2012 13:58

Written by Nick Como

I could rattle off dozens of clichés that speak to The Gateway. Each of them has the same moral: to turn lemons into lemonade by looking at change as a new opportunity. They are all true.

As things change in downtown, they tend to change cyclically. As a result of investment in The Gateway, the west side of downtown experienced a renaissance of sorts for the past several years. From the Downtown Farmers Market to art space and new, hip restaurants like Pallet and Tin Angel, this area is visibly stronger than it was in the 1990s. With the opening of City Creek Center, The Gateway has a new opportunity to grow and evolve as it continues to lead downtown's burgeoning west side.

Salt Lake has changed dramatically since the turn of the millennium and I believe there is room for two outdoor shopping destinations in town that are effectively differentiating themselves. Gateway's strategy for moving forward is to take a look at who they are and what they can become. The ball, in this case, is firmly in Gateway's court. Fitting, since they house Dick's Sporting Goods and are a bounce pass away from the home of the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz play a minimum of 41 home games. This is what a marketer may call low-hanging fruit. When 20,000 patrons are across the street from your property, opportunity knocks – loudly. Gateway has a ton of parking that is already utilized by thousands of Jazz patrons? during home games and is a wonderful place to meet with friends before and/or after heading over to the arena.

Gateway is also open Sundays, one of the biggest shopping days of the week.

Gateway can redefine itself as the entertainment capital of SLC. In fact, they are well on their way with the Planetarium, Megaplex Theatre, Discovery Gateway, concerts at the Depot and sports at Energy Solutions or televised games at Bout Time Pub & Grub. There is something here for everyone: sports, entertainment, science, family friendly activities, etc. World-class entertainment in outdoor areas have been very successful in other cities. LA Live in Los Angeles, albeit with different weather, is a great example of this.

At the end of the day, a mall is built around shopping and entertainment. There is talk about a Public Market opening year-round in the Rio Grande Depot, akin to the famous ones found in other major American cities. The Gateway could be an important partner and champion for this potential new neighbor, as the neighborhood around The Gateway becomes more successful. I'd imagine many of the same people who go to Farmers Markets may appreciate other amenities The Gateway has and could offer.

LA Live has an awesome ESPN Zone perhaps an ESPN flag at The Gateway could be a game changer (pun intended). What Staples Center is to LA, ESA is to SLC. Similar analogies can be found in dining and holiday celebrations.

Gateway's wide corridors, which contrast the cozy confines of CCC, lend themselves perfectly to additional differentiation. Case in point: The Salt Lake Marathon has traditionally finished at Gateway and is also host to the St. Patties day parade. With such an active community in SLC it would be great to attend another half dozen anchor events in addition to the various concerts, festivals and events – near 50 of them – throughout the year Gateway plays host to.

Just like Malone posting up thousands of times across the street for a Stockton assist, Gateway can slam dunk one home. Maybe they will even shoot a three pointer of their own in a game all Salt Lakers can win.