The bill making way for a Utah MLB team is now headed to Gov. Cox’s desk

Aubree B. Jennings
·2 min read
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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A bill that would make way for a Major League Baseball team to come to Utah is heading to Gov. Cox’s desk after the House Speaker signed it Wednesday.

House Bill 562, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, passed the House on Tuesday and flew through the Senate on Wednesday. It is now on its way to the governor to be signed or vetoed.

While it’s not quite a home run yet, if signed, the bill would make it possible to recruit an MLB team to the Beehive State and build a large stadium in Salt Lake City.

Lawmakers, however, did not pitch the bill by appealing to baseball, rather supporters emphasized how the development project would improve the west side of Salt Lake City and help rehabilitate the Utah Fairpark area.

The bill would create a new state district that would aim to “rehabilitate the Jordan River, remediate an environmentally sensitive industrial sight, and revitalize the long-neglected westside of Salt Lake City,” according to a press release.

“Right now, the state owns the fair park and it’s about 60 acres,” Sen. Lincoln Fillmore said. “It’s been in need of rehabilitation for a long time but there’s never really been a funding source for it.”

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The Larry H. Miller Company has been leading the effort to bring the MLB to Utah. Should Utah get an MLB team by 2032, this bill would allow for a baseball stadium to be built in the area.

Originally, the bill included a tax increase on hotels and car rentals statewide to help fund a $900 million budget for a baseball stadium. The tax increase on hotels has been removed from the bill, however, the bill has kept a 1.5% increase in car rental tax, which Fillmore says will almost exclusively affect tourists.

Rep. Wilcox and Sen. Fillmore say if the MLB chooses Salt Lake City for a team’s home base, the owner of the team will donate millions to build a stadium that will be owned by the state of Utah and leased back out to the team.

The stadium’s construction will be funded by the car rental tax increase, sales tax revenue from the Fairpark area and private funds. Once built, the team leasing the stadium will pay a monthly payment of $150,000, the press release states, bringing additional revenue to the state of Utah.

“It’s a real win for the state and a real win for the taxpayers,” Fillmore said.

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