During his monthly news conference in Salt Lake City Thursday, Gov. Cox reiterated his claim that Utah’s conservative politics didn’t play a role in Sundance’s decision to relocate to a college town in Colorado.
“We’ve been told by the Sundance leadership, and I trust them, that it was purely a monetary issue for them,” Cox said. “They’d been struggling for years and thought that the Colorado offer was a more generous offer, which is fine.”
Utah Sen. Dan McCay, who co-sponsored a new state bill banning the use of Pride flags in schools and on government property, called for Sundance to leave ahead of its final decision last month. McCay said the festival promoted pornography and themes that deride the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Sundance officials announced they were exploring locations outside of Park City last year because of the high costs in one of Utah’s most expensive cities.
In recent years, the Sundance Institute has laid off staff, raised ticket prices and cut venues for its annual event. The institute’s financial records show it took a major hit in 2021 it attributes to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sundance Acting CEO Amanda Kelso previously said that Boulder “is a place where the festival can build and flourish.”
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis recently signed a bill giving the film festival $34 million in tax credits over 10 years. Utah was offering Sundance more than $12 million in cash and in-kind contributions annually for the festival to remain in the state.
But, Colorado’s financial package was front-loaded with more guaranteed funding.
A Sundance report on the 2024 festival found that the event generated a total economic impact of $132 million in Utah, along with supporting over 1,700 local jobs.
Cox expressed optimism about the event leaving Thursday. He said it could open the door to new opportunities.
“The repercussions of Sundance leaving, it’s been the best thing that could happen,” Cox said. “The number of people in lots of different industries, in arts and entertainment, who are interested in doing something bigger here and better than Sundance is just off the charts… My phone hasn’t stopped ringing.”
Cox said he has a list of 50 people in various sectors, including film, music and technology, who are interested in bringing an event to the state.
The governor said more work needs to be done, but he hopes to have something in place by next year.
Park City and Salt Lake City will host the Sundance Film Festival in January before the event makes the move to Boulder in 2027.
