Most cannot see the stage. Few can find a seat. All use Porta-Potties instead of real restrooms.

Concertgoers could have better views of the stage and better seats all around if Salt Lake City's Redevelopment Agency spends $3.1 million on a face-lift.

Gallivan manager Talitha Day thinks it's time for an update. "It's 13 years old," she said Thursday of the amphitheater and open space at 239 S. Main St. "We want to move with the times. Look what the LDS Church is doing down the street [redeveloping the Crossroads Plaza and ZCMI Center malls]. That is going to bring so much energy to downtown. We need to grow with it."

Day's preferred renovation option calls for removing the skate rental building that stands next to the ice-skating rink - and blocks views of the stage - and building a new one on the grassy patch on 200 South. A new building would include permanent restrooms, a bigger conference/banquet facility and rooftop garden. The pond on top of the ice-skating rink would be eliminated so the rink would be level with the ground. That means it could be covered during the off-season, providing space for dining and to watch concerts. And the grass near the stage would be expanded, accommodating 2,090 instead of 1,216.

While the Twilight concerts are probably the Gallivan's most well-attended events, the plaza has hosted 311 public and private gatherings the past fiscal year.

Day said the new design would allow for more winter events, including indoor weddings and parties. Improving sightlines of the stage is also key.

"They have between 8,000 and 10,000 people here on a Thursday night and it's packed," she said. "We would love to make it more comfortable for everyone so the Twilight will continue to be at the Gallivan Center."

Gallivan is facing more competition from other event space at city-owned venues, including Library Square, Washington Square and eventually Pioneer Park.

The city blew the chance to get some of the renovations paid for with leftover Olympic money. City infighting led the Salt Lake Olympic Committee to spend its $6 million it planned to spend downtown elsewhere.

The City Council wants more information before it agrees to the Gallivan renovation.

On Thursday, Councilwoman Nancy Saxton was most vocal about her concerns. She said the council has already rejected adding any buildings to 200 South - at one time a restaurant was going to be built there - because they would obscure the plaza. And she said expanding events at the Gallivan puts the city in the position of competing with private venues and the city itself. She said the plaza around the new Main Library is "underutilized desperately. That's what we paid $5 million for and yet we don't do anything with it."

hmay@sltrib.com