Commission Impossible: Bet on This
Jonathan Owens, a Director here at Newmark Mountain West is this week’s guest on the podcast! Jonathan sits down with co-hosts Chad Moore and Troy Hardy for an all new episode; Commission Impossible: Bet on This. They discussed the upcoming Salt Lake Temple Celebration and its impacts on downtown Salt Lake City, the resurgence of malls throughout the country, and the growing popularity of sports betting and futures trading.
Troy leads the discussion on the Salt Lake Temple Celebration, which will run from April 2027 through October 2027 and is expected to bring 20,000 people per day to downtown Salt Lake City. This will be the first time in 130 years that the general public can go inside. In December 2019, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began a $2.5-billion renovation of its flagship temple in downtown Salt Lake City. After more than seven years, it will open to the public for six months for tours. Downtown office occupancy has nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels. That, combined with other downtown events such as Jazz and Mammoth games and concerts and plays, will be a huge boost to downtown businesses and the energy of the city. See the Newmark Mountain West report The Big Leap: Salt Lake County’s Generational Investment in Sports, Culture & Urban Living exploring the public and private investments to create arts, entertainment and sports districts that will transform how Utahns and visitors will live, work and play for decades to come.
The resurgence of malls has been in the news lately and Chad gives us a quick overview of the history of malls. Shopping malls were at their peak in the 2010’s, with about 1,200 shopping malls in the U.S. As of 2026, we are seeing 700 of those malls still open. The malls still open today have gone through massive changes. Those malls, however, are thriving, seeing growing foot traffic and low vacancy rates. They discuss what is happening locally with malls like Layton Hills Mall, Fashion Place and the Shops at South Town. Is the younger generation leading the charge? Or is it nostalgia for the older generations that grew up hanging out at the mall? Will a new mall ever be built again or have power centers taken over completely?
Finally, Jonathan leads us through a discussion on the growing popularity of sports betting and futures trading. Sports betting has fundamentally changed how we consume sports. It used to be that you would watch a game to cheer for a team. With the rise of fantasy sports that changed to cheering for individual players. Now, with sports betting and parlays, fans often focus on individual plays or stats. It is impossible to watch a game without seeing the betting odds and advertisements from the betting and futures trading companies. Jonathan, Troy, and Chad express their concerns regarding gambling addiction, insider trading, the integrity of sports, and how this can and will be affecting sports for the future, especially for young adults and teenagers. Listen to hear Jonathan give his prediction for how good the Utah Jazz will be this season.
