Renderings of a new Utah Jazz office space downtown turned heads when the images were posted online this week.
They also turned out to not be real.
The Downtown Alliance on Wednesday used its Instagram account to tease the second phase of Salt Lake City’s West Quarter, a development on the block surrounded by 100 South and 200 South on its north and south sides, and 200 West and 300 West on its east and west sides. So far, a residential apartment building, two restaurants, and two hotels have been built on the block in phase 1 of the project.
After real estate developers the Ritchie Group and city officials hosted a ribbon cutting Wednesday, the Downtown Alliance posted new renderings online as a sneak peek of phase 2, which is slated to include three more residential buildings, a hotel, and an office building.
Intrigue grew when the renderings featured numerous Utah Jazz logos.
In one rendering, the word “Jazz” was imprinted in the building, with the old yellow-to-orange gradient design logo at the corner of the building adjacent to what appear to be indoor basketball courts. Another rendering featured what appears to be a floor of outdoor basketball courts above two floors of office space, with a reception area, workstations, and larger tables — and multiple Utah Jazz logos.
So naturally, fans — and even some Jazz staffers — wondered: were the photos a sneak peek? Would the Jazz be moving their practice facility and offices away from the location at the Zions Bank Basketball Campus (ZBBC), at 1420 South 500 West, to this more downtown location near Vivint Arena?
Well, it turns out, no.
“The renderings containing the Jazz logos were accidentally included in our renderings package that went out to the media yesterday. We never received permission from the Jazz to ever use their logos or name,” Ryan Ritchie, co-founder and principal of the Ritchie Group, told The Salt Lake Tribune. “This morning we issued an apology to the Jazz for using their logos without permission. We issued a new list of approved renderings that do not contain any of their logos.”
In short, Jazz officials were pitched on participating in the project, but there wasn’t interest returned. A source familiar with the situation reached out to the developers to request that any Jazz logos be removed. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss the matters publicly.
Newer renderings of Phase 2 of the project are below:
Renderings of Phase 2 of the West Quarter project in Salt Lake City's downtown. (Courtesy The Ritchie Group)
Renderings of Phase 2 of the West Quarter project in Salt Lake City's downtown. (Courtesy The Ritchie Group)
Renderings of Phase 2 of the West Quarter project in Salt Lake City's downtown. (Courtesy The Ritchie Group)
