The Salt Palace was an indoor arena in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, that opened on July 11, 1969, after groundbreaking in March 1967. Built at a cost of about $17 million, the venue took its name from an earlier 1899 attraction, a salt-crystal-covered amusement palace that once stood in the same city.
For a quarter century, the Salt Palace served as Salt Lake City’s main stage for professional sports and major concerts, helping put the city on the map for big-league entertainment. The arena was closed in 1993 and demolished in 1994, with its site absorbed into the expanding Salt Palace Convention Center.
- Utah Jazz played here 1979–1991. See every Jazz arena →
Stats at a Glance
- Location: 100 S West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
- Opened: July 11, 1969
- Closed/Demolished: Closed 1993; demolished 1994
- Capacity: About 12,616 (basketball); about 10,594 (hockey)
- Team(s): Utah Jazz (NBA, 1979-1991), Utah Stars (ABA, 1970-1975), Salt Lake Golden Eagles (hockey, 1969-1991)
- Construction cost: About $17 million
- Notable fact: Successor to a legendary 1899 salt-crystal amusement palace of the same name
Home of the Jazz and the Stars
Before the Utah Jazz moved into what later became the Delta Center, the Salt Palace was their home court from 1979 to 1991. Earlier, the arena had hosted the ABA’s Utah Stars from 1970 to 1975, and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles minor-league hockey club called it home for over two decades.
The building also drew major touring concerts, cementing its role as the region’s primary venue for big-league sports and entertainment through the 1970s and 1980s.
From Salt Crystals to Steel Beams
The arena borrowed its name from a much earlier Salt Palace, an 1899 amusement structure covered in rock salt that once anchored a Salt Lake City entertainment park. By the time the modern arena broke ground in 1967, the name carried decades of local nostalgia.
After the Jazz and other tenants moved on, the aging facility closed in 1993 and was torn down in 1994 to make way for the expanding Salt Palace Convention Center, which still occupies part of the original site today.
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Salt Palace FAQs
When did the Salt Palace arena open and close?
It opened on July 11, 1969, closed in 1993, and was demolished in 1994.
What was the Salt Palace’s seating capacity?
About 12,616 for basketball and about 10,594 for hockey in its final configuration.
Which teams played at the Salt Palace?
The Utah Jazz (NBA, 1979-1991), the Utah Stars (ABA, 1970-1975), and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles hockey team (1969-1991) all called it home.
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Photo: Svanbaaren / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.