Salomon, Megaplex open
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No Comments [ Add Comment ]By Scott Schwebke
Standard-Examiner staff
sschwebke@standard.net
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strong>Official Ogden event draws dignitaries
OGDEN -- With the snip of a ribbon, city officials and dignitaries on Friday officially celebrated the grand opening of the Salomon Center and Megaplex 13 theaters at The Junction development downtown.
Although both facilities opened to the public last week, the ceremony gave those involved with the project an opportunity to bask in the limelight.
Entertainment and sports mogul Larry Miller, the owner of the $18 million Megaplex, took center stage in the lobby of the theater crowded with well-wishers.
Miller said he wouldn't have built the facility if it hadn't been for the vision of Mayor Matthew Godfrey, who convinced him The Junction would be a great business opportunity.
"Mayor Godfrey is good at a number of things including having a vision, seeing that vision articulated and closing the deal," Miller said.
Godfrey also praised Miller, awarding him a key to the city. "Larry Miller has the Midas touch," he said.
"If you can get him to come to your community, the things he touches turn to gold."
The Megaplex features 2,300 seats, state-of-the-art audiovisual and sound technology and a food court.
Following the ribbon-cutting festivities inside the air-conditioned confines of the Megaplex, spectators attended another ribbon-cutting ceremony in the sweltering heat outside the Salomon Center.
The 125,000-square-foot facility is named after the Salomon brand of ski products produced by Amer Sports Inc., which is locating its North American headquarters in the former American Can Co., off Lincoln Avenue in Ogden.
"The biggest honor is that the city has allowed us to put our name on this building," Amer Sports Corp. President Mike Dowse told the crowd gathered for the ceremony.
Representatives from FatCats and Gold's Gym also spoke.
Construction of the Salomon Center would not have been accomplished without hard work from the city's staff and community leaders, said Godfrey, who described the building as unique.
"There has never been anything like this in the United States," he said.
The building features FatCats Fun Center, which includes a 32-lane bowling alley and other amenities, four restaurants, Gold's Gym, Flowrider surf pool, the iRock climbing wall, and iFLY vertical wind tunnel.
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