Salt Lake City Conventions, Trade Shows, Conferences and Meetings
Finding Conventions in Salt Lake City can be quite time consuming. At Conventions.net, we provide you with an easy to use, efficient means of searching for event planning resources for trade shows, conferences, meetings, and conventions all in a manner of seconds. You have the opportunity to choose from a vast selection of convention centers and meeting facilities in Salt Lake City. We developed Conventions.net to make the search for event planning resources easier than ever.

Locating Convention Centers and Trade Shows in Salt Lake City
At one time the most efficient way to locate Convention and Trade Show planning resources in Salt Lake City was to call company after company simply based on their yellow page ad. Now, when you use Conventions.net you can find meeting planning resources in Salt Lake City that meet your specific needs. Not only is this a convenient way to quickly locate convention and conference planning resources, but it is also an excellent resource to find industry suppliers such as hotels, resorts, event speakers, convention centers, and convention visitor bureaus.

We are affiliated with both large nationwide trade show planning companies as well as smaller local convention industry suppliers, which offer trade show and convention planning resources in Salt Lake City. So, if you are looking to plan a meeting, convention, or trade show in Salt Lake City you have nothing to lose, and only time and money to gain by letting Conventions.net help you fill your event planning needs.

Salt Lake City (1990 pop. 159,936), alt. c.4,330 ft (1,320 m), state capital and seat of Salt Lake co., N central Utah, on the Jordan River and near the Great Salt Lake, at the foot of the Wasatch Range; inc. 1851. The largest city in the state, it is a great regional center, world headquarters of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the processing point for products of an irrigated farm region that is rich in minerals. Major industries include food processing; silver, lead, copper, zinc, and iron smelting; the production of computers and electronic equipment; oil refining; and since 1970, warehousing.

The city's outlying suburbs grew rapidly in the 1980s. Founded in 1847 by Brigham Young as the capital of the Mormon (see Latter-day Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of ) community, the city achieved greatness as its economic hub. The prominence of the gigantic Temple (built 1853-93) on Temple Square at the city's heart reflects the Mormon nature of Salt Lake City; nearby are the Mormon Tabernacle (opened 1867) and Conference Center (opened 2000). After 1849, Salt Lake City was a supply point for overland travel to California and was connected with the first transcontinental railroad by a line built (1869-70) by Brigham Young to Ogden. It is the seat of the Univ. of Utah, Westminster College, Stevens Henager College, and Utah Technical College at Salt Lake City.

Salt Lake City residents have a lot to be proud of lately. Utah will host the Winter Olympics in 2002, the Utah Jazz professional basketball team is top-notch, the celebrated Sundance Film Festival occurs nearby, employment rates are high, and the city is becoming recognized as a national economic powerhouse. Clearly, a lot has gone on since Mormon leader Brigham Young and his followers gazed down on the valley "that no one else wanted."
The city occupies the Salt Lake Valley, which is the basin of an ancient lake that was once enormous, but is now on its way to disappearing altogether. Salt Lake City gets its notoriety as the home of the Mormon Church. The Mormons settled the valley in 1847, after fleeing from religious persecution in the East. Carving a world of their own in the rugged territory, the Mormons established a city around a temple.

For outsiders, the most apparent result of this cultural heritage is the combination of riches and social conservatism. Although other settlers had rejected the valley, history shows that the Mormons made a judicious choice when they settled in this fertile, mineral-rich area. The gold and other minerals brought in non-Mormons, too, which diversified the area in race and religion.
Visitors will find the attractions in town are heavy on history and religion, and low on thrills. Neoclassical architecture mixes with contemporary high rises, while the Wasatch Mountains act as a spectacular backdrop to the city.
Great ski areas can be reached in as little as 30 minutes. Park City, which lies just 25 minutes from downtown, is a world-famous downhill resort destination. A scenic former mining town, it is upscale, trendy, and filled with unique restaurants, shops, and other attractions.

With its wide city-center streets, the busy coming-and-going of the TRAX light rail system and the constant bustle of new construction, Salt Lake City has an atmosphere of expansion and growth. Situated at the base of the magnificent Wasatch Mountains, the city is booming economically and evolving at a rapid rate. While most business travelers limit their activities to the city center, many tourists come for the outstanding outdoor recreation found throughout the Salt Lake Basin. In winter, skiing is the main reason for a visit to this vast area, but when the snow melts, it becomes prime mountain biking and hiking country. Salt Lake City offers a variety of activities no matter what the season, so a visit here any time of year is recommended.

The City Center
The downtown area is a mixture of contrasts that situates the most modern of sports arenas, the Delta Center, across the street from the old Victorian Devereaux Mansion. The stately Temple Square is flanked by high-rise office buildings and the modern Crossroads Plaza shopping center. Brigham Young's Beehive House creates a 19th-century oasis across the street from office towers of the 21st century. Arranged on a logical grid pattern with Temple Square at its center, all addresses in the city can conveniently be found with little effort.

Business and tourism are the lifeblood of the city, but between the office buildings lay the cultural and entertainment centers that present numerous diversions at the end of the business or ski day. The Capitol Theatre, home of Ballet West, is both an architectural and cultural gem. One of downtown's classic older buildings, the theatre has been renovated into a modern venue for Broadway productions and intimate concerts. It is only a pleasant stroll from any of the downtown hotels and is close to some of the city's finest restaurants. Equally accessible from anywhere in downtown is Abravanel Hall (home of the Utah Opera Company) and the Delta Center (home of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz). The volunteer hosts at the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitors' Bureau in the Salt Palace Convention Center can always recommend a variety of activities, favorite restaurants or sites to visit.

Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City is truly a hill! A walk from downtown up State Street to the Utah State Capitol Building offers a sampling of the grandeur of the homes of mining and financial barons. Several of these old residences, notably Wolfe Krest Bed & Breakfast and The Inn on Capitol Hill, provide a good sense of Salt Lake City as it was at the turn of the 19th century. The private homes on the hill also offer an eclectic blend of Victorian, Italianate and "wealthy pioneer" architectural styles. Just to the west of the Utah State Capitol is the Pioneer Memorial Museum, which also provides a sense of life in the "Beehive State" in its early days.

Once the home of the trolleys that were the transportation mainstay of Salt Lake City, the trolley barns of Trolley Square now enclose some of the best restaurants and shopping in the city. From the well-known Hard Rock Cafe to the local favorite Desert Edge Brewery at the Pub, the numerous dining establishments are each a pleasure. Shopping ranges from the eclectic to the stylish and from the mainstream to the uncommon. Trolley Square is an ideal setting for an afternoon of shopping or an evening of dinner, drinks and a movie.

The University of Utah
The university district and the university itself offer a number of delights. On the campus of the University of Utah are the Utah Museum of Natural History and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. Kingsbury Hall is a concert and performance venue that is a special pleasure for jazz performances, dance productions and theatre. The University's Huntsman Center hosts the sporting exhibitions of the University of Utah Utes, while the nearby Red Butte Gardens is a four-season experience that, once again, integrates the city with Utah's diverse natural environment.

Outside the City Center
Like many metropolitan areas, Salt Lake City has sprawled past its designated boundaries into numerous suburbs and outlying areas. North of the city center lie Farmington, Hill Air Force Base and Ogden, home to the Hill Aerospace Museum, Eccles Dinosaur Park and Lagoon Amusement Park. West of the city center is home to Salt Lake International Airport and much of the area's rapidly expanding industry. To the east of the city lies the magnificent Wasatch Front. These craggy peaks and bucolic valleys shelter Park City and world-renowned ski resorts such as Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort and Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort.