The University of Utah’s three off-campus Red Zone sports merchandise stores — in Sandy, Jordan Landing (West Jordan) and Layton, respectively — will be closing their doors for good on Wednesday.
The main and Sandy campus stores and the online store at uredzone.com will remain open for business, according to a notice Monday at the Utah Red Zone website.
A 2013 legislative audit determined the stores’ existence violated policies forbidding competition with private businesses. Higher education institutions’ businesses are intended to serve their campus communities, but not advertise to or cultivate a public clientele.
A deal was struck in 2014 to extend the leases at two of the three stores so they would all close at the same time when the last lease expired at the end of 2017.
Fans’ desire for more and different Utes apparel, and the ability to purchase it without having to drive to the U.’s campus, led to the opening of the Sandy Red Zone location (10497 S. State St.) in 2010. Stores followed in Layton (445 W. 1425 North) in 2011 and West Jordan (7128 S. Plaza Center Drive) in 2012.
Vice president for administrative services Arnold Combe wrote in 2014 that the shops weren’t intended to “increase market share” but were meant to offer “more convenient locations. Fans and alumni have the choice to support the University of Utah without having to make the trip to campus.”
The audit, however, determined the stores’ $1.9 million in revenue during the prior fiscal year represented “potential sales revenue lost by private businesses,” and also meant the state was losing out on potential tax money.
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