There was one final flourish to unveil on Tuesday morning before fans could get a look at the $125 million renovation job to the home of the Utah Jazz.
With the drop of a curtain, the Larry H. Miller Group revealed the J-Note statue, what the team owners and company regard as a future iconic spot in front of the upgraded, modern facility that came together in just 129 days.
Gail Miller, the chairwoman of the Miller Group, soldiered through a teary speech as she dedicated — for the second time — the arena that is better suited than ever to be the long-term home of the Jazz.
“We wanted to ensure that both [the Jazz and the arena] would survive for many, many generations,” she said. “This is a new beginning and we’re proud to say that we’ve accomplished that purpose. The Jazz and the building cannot be separated: They’re here to stay.”
The “J-Note” was put in front of the arena on Monday night, “under the cover of darkness,” joked team president Steve Starks.
The statue stands roughly 100 feet in front of the most striking new feature: an atrium that houses the new box office, team store and will soon host automated ticketing entrances to a more open arena bowl.
While the arena seating capacity will shrink to between 18,150 and 18,300 (down from 19,911), those seats have gone from hard plastic green to an upholstered, cushioned blue. Concrete has been cleared away from some concourse areas and sixth-floor areas to create more open social spaces.
Hundreds of fans were given the freedom to wander up and down the stairs, into the new club areas and browse new businesses (R&R Barbeque, Cubby’s, El Chubasco) that will be available when the Jazz open the preseason on Monday against the Sydney Kings.
“It’s like kids,” Starks said. “There’s so many things we love about it, it’s hard to pick just one.”
While the Miller Group is anxious to see how the atmosphere holds up for the venue’s first concert (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on Wednesday night) and the first games, there has already been a test event. Thousands of corporate employees and contractors who worked on the building attended an early sneak peak last week, including a musical performance by Rachel Platten.
Before any shovel hit dirt on the construction process, Starks said the planning group was working for 18 months in advance to conduct market research, analyze the structure of the building and iron out the steps in the truncated timeline with crews working 20 hours per day.
While project executive Jeremy Blanck called it one of the most ambitious projects Okland Construction has ever undertaken, by the time they started, the process was surprisingly smooth.
“By the time we really jumped into it, I think we had a really high level of confidence that we could get it done,” he said. “The challenge was getting the right companies that had the labor force to support this kind of project. Once we had that, there was really a sense of community here.”
Miller said she’s heard a lot of positive feedback from players and other employees on the arena, which she said “everything is better, bigger, badder.” Along with placing the Jazz in a legacy trust earlier this year, Miller envisions the renovations as ensuring the franchise’s place in the city and state where she was born and has tried to serve throughout her life.
“It’s a resource that belongs here, that makes good things happen,” she said. “Anything we can do to make this a wonderful place to live is our goal.”