Utah Sports Hall Of Fame To Open New Museum In Downtown SLC

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A new space dedicated to preserving Utah’s sports history is set to open this week at the City Creek Center mall.

The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation will reveal its new museum in a grand opening on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum is located on the northwest corner of the downtown mall, across from the side entrance to Nordstrom.

The museum replaces the previous Hall of Fame exhibit which was a section of plaques located on the lower bowl concourse at Vivint Smart Home Arena. The arena’s renovation in 2017 forced the foundation to find a new place to honor the state’s sports heroes and thus, the museum at the mall was built.

The space includes over 50 years of sports history from the state and is highly interactive. The main portion of the museum features images of the Hall of Fame inductees with interactive touch screens, where guests can learn more about the inductees and view additional photos and information about their accomplishments.

The Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum opens May 18, and we're excited to see all of the Utah sports figures who are celebrated there. Check out the grand opening from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. at 99 W South Temple (Suite 102). Admission is FREE to all! #MyReasonWhy pic.twitter.com/TZCYMjwaSB

— UHSAA (@UHSAAinfo) May 14, 2019

Other features of the museum include specialized sections about its most well-known Hall of Famers like Ron McBride and LaVell Edwards, a trivia game video screen, and a virtual reality area where viewers can experience a ride on a bobsled at the Olympic Park in Park City.

The museum will also house artifacts such as autographed jerseys, trophies and other memorabilia. West Jordan-based boxer Gene Fullmer’s 1957 middleweight world championship belt, former Utah basketball star Arnie Ferrin’s 1944 NCAA Tournament MVP award and Utah Jazz legend Frank Layden’s 1984 NBA Coach of the Year trophy are especially interesting additions to the archives.

Foundation President Proud Of Museum

For the foundation’s president, Norma Carr, who also spent 25 years as the athletic director at SLCC, the hope is that the museum can be a fun and interesting experience for sports fans of all ages, especially young people.

“It’s just a way for people to learn more about great sports figures,” said Carr. “For youth, it can give them mentors, we thought about that as we built this.” Carr also mentioned that in addition to professional and collegiate stars from Utah, the Hall of Fame also honors high school players, coaches and even referees.

Today I got a special look at the brand-new Utah Sports Hall of Fame Museum! I was thrilled to have Norma Carr, the first Utah woman to serve as athletic director for both men's and women's sports program, as my tour guide. pic.twitter.com/KLJa1Z4X5o

— Mayor J. Biskupski (@slcmayor) May 15, 2019

Another hope for the foundation and the museum rests on the possibility that Salt Lake may host a future Olympic Games. It was announced in December that Salt Lake City would represent the United States in an upcoming bid to host the Winter Games, most likely in 2030.

“If we get the Winter Games back here can you imagine how we can showcase Utah sports and athletes and coaches to the world,” said Carr with great excitement.

All in all, Carr feels that the museum will become an important part of the Utah sports community.

“We’re really excited to have this so that people can see our sports history,” said Carr.

More information on the Utah Sports Hall of Fame Foundation can be found here.