Thousands of fans spill out from TRAX trains. Drivers shell out up to $10 to park near the arena. Nearby restaurants command 30-minute waits. By this time, the Delta Center's 1,200 part-time employees - from custodians and concessionaires to ticket takers and security guards - are on the job.

"It's like a town," says Williams, the arena's general manager. "It's a real hub, and it's going to continue to be a real hub."

No study exists on the Delta Center's economic impact to Salt Lake City's west downtown, but anecdotally insiders and outsiders say the basketball/concert venue couldn't help but revive a neglected neighborhood.

"The Delta Center showed what you could do with the west side," says Salt Lake City Councilman Carlton Christensen. "You can just look at it and you see these huge crowds come into the city every day. There's just no question that it has been an asset to the city."

The Delta Center - which opened in 1991, replacing a parking lot and warehouses - is why the north/south and University TRAX lines end where they do. It spurred the city to rebuild 400 West, paving the way for further development. And it freed up the Salt Palace, the former Jazz home, for renovation to stage bigger and better conventions, which bring in restaurant and hotel customers.

Assessed value of the Delta Center land has jumped from $3.3 million to $12 million, according to a city-commissioned study.

No question business is booming around the sports facility, though it's difficult to credit the arena solely for the turnaround. At the time it was built, developers were turning warehouses into housing and offices - albeit slowly.

Today, that pace is quicker. To the east, the Salt Palace is set for another round of expansion and an office building is under construction. To the north, an office complex will become an education campus for LDS Business College and the Salt Lake extension of Brigham Young University. To the south, a warehouse will give way to condominiums.

To the west is the biggest plum of all: The Gateway, a $375 million mega-project filled with shops, restaurants, apartments, condos and movie theaters, which opened 10 years after the Delta Center. Ads for Gateway condos even play off their basketball neighbor, noting they are a "3-point shot away" from the Delta Center.

But developer Jake Boyer says he didn't build Gateway because of the arena. It was the city's removal of a rail yard that freed 30 acres for his development. "That being said, [the Delta Center] definitely helped our decision to go ahead with this project. We see it as one of our traffic generators."

Indeed it is, says Morgann Roskelley, manager of the Happy Sumo Sushi Bar at Gateway. "When [the Jazz] play the Lakers, it's huge, everybody's going to the game."

But other restaurants, which used to see more business from Delta Center events, say the crowds have dwindled.

"If the [Salt Palace] convention center wasn't there, we'd definitely be hurting, but the Delta Center, eh," shrugs Sabrina Sanders, manager of Red Rock Brewing Co.

One restaurant owner says sports events and concerts actually hurt his business.

Joe Fraser moved his Ruby Tuesday from near the Delta Center to a spot close to the E Center. "Our business actually went down when there was something going on at the Delta Center because it made it hard to park."

Public contribution: $24 million bond for the land, parking garage on a nearby block and reconstruction of 400 West.

Private contribution: $74 million from Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller (via a $66 million loan and an $8 million personal contribution) to build the arena.

Number of events per year: 110 to 120, including at least 41 Jazz games.

Number of people employed: 85 to 90 full time, up to 1,200 on game nights.

Number of seats: 20,500.

Other amenities: Meeting rooms, catering, luxury suites.