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It's Clear Channel or the curtain for the historic Utah Theatre.
Owner Rick Howa told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday that he is developing a plan to demolish the 85-year-old structure at 148 S. Main St. to make way for a mixed-use project with housing and retail - potentially ending the growing momentum for an arts district on the block.
However, Howa might back off that track if community and government officials agree to let for-profit media conglomerate Clear Channel operate the Utah Theatre, which would be renovated mostly with public funds, and nearby Capitol Theatre - as Howa proposed in March.
Salt Lake County typically operates downtown's public arts venues.
"That's how that deal [the renovation] will work," Howa said. "If somebody says we won't take that deal, they don't have to. I develop something else."
Insiders privately wonder if the mixed-use project is a bluff to force the community to support Clear Channel management - something arts groups oppose.
Howa's announcement shocked arts groups and members of the Salt Lake Chamber, which is pushing the arts district plan that calls for a renovated Utah Theatre surrounded by galleries, film venues and smaller performing arts theaters.
But Howa doubts the district will happen because it's too expensive - he estimates $100 million to $125 million, though the chamber has provided no firm number.
Howa also noted he doesn't economically benefit from the chamber plan, which has him selling the theater to Salt Lake County before it's renovated. The county then would have to seek bids for the renovation work and Howa's construction company might not be chosen.
Under Howa's plan, his company would do the renovation and reap an estimated $5 million to $10 million by selling the revamped theater to the county.
Howa lashed out at the "political bargaining it's going to take to get the funding for this project."
"This is no more a negotiating tactic for me than them telling me I've got to support things in order to get my deal. I've got to support [a] homeless [campus] and soccer stadiums. I don't like their negotiating tactics."
Howa is referring to the chamber's plan to move several homeless-service providers from 200 South and 400 West near The Gateway to a "campus" farther south. Howa balks at the idea. Salt Lake City is also trying to find space downtown to build a stadium for a new Major League Soccer franchise.
Howa said he will reveal detailed plans to replace the theater by year's end. A preliminary drawing shows a new midblock street running west from Main Street to West Temple. Apartment and condo buildings would line the lane where the theater now stands, along with shops filled only with locally owned businesses.
Mayor Rocky Anderson has named the theater renovation as one of his top priorities and said Howa has "obviously become impatient with all of the delays."
The mayor - who doesn't oppose Clear Channel's involvement and sees the company as willing to work with the arts groups - still hopes for renovation.
"We've got to find a way to make this happen [and] at the same time provide the accommodations and support for our major arts institutions so they'll be able to continue to thrive," Anderson said.
Byron Russell, director of the chamber's cultural center development plan, said the chamber continues to support a makeover for the theater and would back Clear Channel renovating it on its own. But if public money is involved, the public would expect county involvement, he said. He doesn't believe the homeless campus and arts block are linked.
"We want to do everything we can to preserve the Utah Theatre," Russell said. "We're moving at a fast pace. We will see a great outcome. There are too many people believing in this, working on this and dedicating their time and clout to see that this happens."
Howa mentioned demolition of the theater from the beginning. When he revealed renovation plans in March, he said he would tear it down if his deal with Clear Channel didn't materialize.
He wanted to renovate the theater for $40 million to $45 million, and then sell it to the county. Howa brought in Clear Channel, which proposed operating the venue and Capitol Theatre. The county operates Capitol Theatre at a deficit - projected at $319,000 this year. Clear Channel pledged to eliminate that red ink. It also would pocket any profits.
The Texas-based company owns or operates 18 other theaters nationwide. In Utah, it presents touring shows at Capitol Theatre and Kingsbury Hall.
Leaders of Ballet West and Utah Opera lobbied against that plan, saying it was inappropriate for its competitor and a for-profit company to manage the public theaters.
That's when the Salt Lake Chamber stepped in, suggesting the county run the Utah Theatre and it be renovated as a new home for the ballet, opera and Clear Channel shows. The tentative renovation price tag jumped to $68 million.
"We would be disappointed if [Howa] has altered his opinion about the project," said Jhann Jacobs, executive director of Ballet West, which has held off on plans to build a ballet school and rehearsal studios in Sugar House because of the arts district plan. "But it is his property. He's entitled to do what he wishes."
David M. Anderson, president of Clear Channel Entertainment's national theater management division, said Tuesday that he is "still very interested" in the Utah Theatre and Capitol Theatre. He sees the project as an economic-development tool for downtown Salt Lake City.
"This is an opportunity to preserve a beautiful, historic theater, an architectural treasure that is otherwise at risk," he said. "We will stabilize the operation of the Capitol Theatre. We will guarantee scheduling to meet the needs of the ballet and opera in both theaters."
Clear Channel has said it would put some money toward renovating the theater, but not enough to cover the full cost. Public investment would be needed.
Charles Morey, artistic director of the University of Utah-based Pioneer Theatre Company, opposes public investment under the Clear Channel scenario.
"Why would we subsidize an $8.9 billion corporation to help them dominate the market? I can't understand why any governmental entity would want to do that, particularly since Clear Channel is still producing nonunion tours and advertising them as Broadway shows, which they definitely are not," Morey said. "If Utah Theatre is renovated for the exclusive use of Clear Channel, it puts the future existence of Pioneer Theatre Company in some doubt."
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Tribune reporter Celia Baker contributed to this story.