Dan Farr, the founder of Salt Lake’s FanX, has known for some time that he was going to need to find a new home for FanX. The area is part of the new sports and entertainment district being developed by the Smith Entertainment Group.
Farr says, “We’ve known since discussions started a year and a half ago that things would change. We hoped the original plan—a partial shutdown of the Salt Palace—would happen and that we would operate the convention at half capacity. But in the last couple of weeks, the decision was made to shut down the venue for three years.”
So what will that mean for the popular convention?
Farr continues, “It means a lot of different things. We’ll adapt and manage our way through. It won’t be the same size during the renovation timeline, but when it comes back, we hope to return to a similar-sized event. In the meantime, we’ll move to two smaller events a year, one in the spring and a second in the fall.”
Farr explained that 2027 will see a partial shutdown of the Salt Palace, allowing FanX to use the venue for both a spring and a fall event. It won’t be until 2028 that the Salt Palace shuts down completely. Visit Salt Lake worked with Farr to help facilitate the two events in 2027.
One concern is that, with smaller events, not everyone who wants to attend will be able to. “Even now, at full capacity, we don’t have a lot of room to add more people,” Farr says. “Going to half of the current facility will further impact that. It could boil down to superfans getting the tickets early and carrying on with the same energy.”
The new twice-a-year events will be similar to the early Spring Fan Experience (FanX), which started in 2014 with an emphasis on celebrities. The spring FanX ended in 2019 after skipping 2018.
In 2028, the plan is to move to the Mountain America Expo Center. Farr says, “We’re going to make it as close as possible to half the capacity of the Salt Palace. We won’t have the same number of breakout rooms and will have an even smaller floor plan, so we may move to four days, up from the current three, to accommodate more guests. It is still too early for the details, but we have lots of ideas.”
Farr feels that Salt Lake will lose a great deal by shutting down the Salt Palace for three years. Along with the billion-dollar price tag for the renovation, the city will lose revenue—not just from FanX, but from other conventions that use the building.
“How many years is it going to take to earn back that revenue?” Farr asks.
Not to mention the impact on nearby hotels and restaurants.
Farr understands that, with a building as old as the Salt Palace, some kind of renovation was eventually going to happen. To celebrate the venue that has been home to FanX since the beginning, Farr says, “We’re going to make this year the biggest event we’ve ever had. A last hurrah. We already have a ton of celebrities booked, and we’re just going to max it out and make it the best celebration it can be.”
The new building, when finished, might have its own benefits. As Farr says, “Maybe it will take on a new complexion we’re all happy with. Being shut down for three years is a bit of a step back, but I’m going to stay open-minded and wait and see.”
After all, no matter the size of the party, it is still going to be a party.
Feature image: Crowds gather at FanX 2024. Photo by Crystal Nageli.
