This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ikea effect
In less than a month, big-box home-furnishings retailer IKEA will open its doors for the first time in Utah.
But this event, slated for May 23 at 9 a.m., will be much more than just any store opening, IKEA fans say.
The Swedish company's cult-like following promises to attract a crowd equal to, if not much bigger, than Cabela's massive Lehi opening two years ago. In fact, IKEA will accommodate patrons willing to get in line - sleeping bags, tents and whatever else are OK - up to two days before the opening.
"I've heard rumors that this place is going to need military and police to control the crowds," said Jen McGrew of Salt Lake City. "I hear people are going to show up with U-Hauls."
With 310,000 square feet of furniture, housewares and kitchenware, the store - located just northwest of Bangerter Highway and Interstate 15 - will have plenty of room for the expected mobs.
But roads will be a different story.
Police will be posted at intersections around the store to direct traffic for the first six days of its opening, according to Draper spokeswoman Maridene Hancock.
The city, after meeting with representatives from IKEA, the Utah Highway Patrol, Department of Transportation and the Draper Police Department, developed a traffic plan to handle the giant opening.
All incoming traffic will exit off I-15 onto Bangerter Highway, then take 200 West to the store. Outgoing traffic will be directed onto Pony Express Road, then to 12300 South, where vehicles can access I-15.
City officials also have been prepping neighboring businesses.
"We don't want those businesses to be inconvenienced," Hancock said. "We just want to make sure they know about our traffic-flow plans."
The company promises "something special" for everyone who shows up for the opening morning.
"I'm planning on being there," said Josh Scheuerman, who has flown to San Francisco to shop at IKEA. "I can take my paycheck and spend $300 and feel pretty good about it. Everyone here is going to eat it up."
Joi Stoecker, a member of the Draper Mom's Club, is stoked about the children's play center and the food offerings.
"I wish Utah had more stuff like that," she said. "I'm sure every mom will be there."
The store will feature a 300-seat Swedish restaurant that will offer meatballs, lingonberries, salmon plates and American dishes.
The food isn't there yet, but Draper officials are already eating up the fruits of IKEA's presence.
Besides the windfall of sales tax revenues expected to be generated at the big box - the 30th IKEA in the country and the first in the Mountain West region - the furnishings mega-retailer has been a catalyst for other development in the region.
"That's what normally happens when IKEA opens," Draper's Hancock said. "Suddenly, the ground around IKEA becomes very expensive."
Draper's economic-development director, David Baird, said there is roughly 200,000 square feet of new retail already slated for the area.
"I call it the IKEA-echo effect," Baird said.