This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

After hearing horse people speak up in sizable numbers and with great passion, Salt Lake County officials responded last week with a $16 million plan to upgrade the county Equestrian Park & Event Center in South Jordan.

There was fear among the horse community that the county might close the park when a study of the financially struggling facility was launched last year.

But the County Council ended up approving the proposal recommended by a seven-member advisory committee — including five facility users — that the best way to make the Equestrian Park more functional is to keep it pretty much intact but pump more money into its upkeep.

The first infusion of cash, said county Community Services Director Erin Litvack, will come from a $5 million earmark for the Equestrian Park in the $90 million bond the county will ask voters to approve this November. The bond is to be repaid with revenue from the parks portion of the Zoo, Arts and Parks tax.

Then it will be up to the county to come up with another $11 million during the next few years to carry out projected improvements designed to boost the bottom line.

"We'll come back in a year with a [more-detailed] look at expanded facility needs," Litvack said.

This scenario turned out to be much cheaper than alternatives. Litvack said the notion of keeping some equestrian facilities and converting the rest into a regional park would cost $33.2 million.

Bulking up the facility to be a premier horse venue would cost $40 million — a questionable prospect, Litvack observed, after the Legislature approved the construction of a new arena at the State Fairpark.

Lastly, she said, a scenario to repurpose the facility entirely and to make it a regional park would cost $38 million.

Because a survey showed facility fans believe they should pay a fair share for its use, Litvack said the committee recommended the installation of gates at park entry points to collect entrance fees.

Additional revenue will come from several fee increases: Annual passes will go from $66 to $200, while clubs that rent a facility for a night will pay $800, up from $600, said Equestrian Park operator Dan Hayes.

The county also hopes to sell an irregularly shaped parcel that extends east to Redwood Road and formerly housed mink farms, Litvack added. But plans are to keep an adjacent parcel still needed for storing hay and other feed.

With that revenue, she said, the county is looking to include more restrooms, spice up the quality of horse stalls, add one arena and fix up five others, upgrade the event center and track, replace a half dozen smaller buildings lost by the sale of the mink-farm property and expand parking.

"If we're going to keep the Equestrian Park, we need to be willing to invest in it," said Councilwoman Aimee Winder Newton, noting she was educated about the facility by the horse community since writing a blog post earlier this year questioning "is this really a need and something we want in the community?"

That kind of question galvanized the horse community, said advisory committee chairman Brett Tolman.

The process, he said, "awakened the equestrian community." A town-hall meeting this spring attracted hundreds. Horse advocates showed up frequently at council meetings to promote the park during public-input periods.

Close to a dozen were in the council chambers last week to thank the council for its commitment to the Equestrian Park.

"If we get creative, we can do more things like this," said Debbie Mayer of South Jordan. "We can save this treasure for generations to come."

"Thanks for saving our park," said Kristin Barr of Sandy. "It has the potential to be bigger than it is now, to pay for itself and to bring in world-class shows that show what Salt Lake has to offer."

"By investing in our park, you are investing in our kids and in our future," added South Jordan resident Chelsey Pugh.

Council members didn't need much convincing that they were doing the right thing.

"The way the users approached this respectfully allowed us to get a lot done quickly and to turn this around," said Councilwoman Jenny Wilson.

Praising park-based 4-H clubs that help teach youths about life through raising animals, Councilman Richard Snelgrove added "you don't find many people involved in 4-H at the juvenile correction center."