The Main Street core will soon become a little more corporate with the arrival of the spotlight of Hollywood.
As the Sundance Film Festival approaches, there will be a series of spaces along the shopping, dining and entertainment strip, as well as nearby locations, that will become temporary setups for festival sponsors.
It is an annual exercise as the sponsors move in, many times with elaborate setups, in the days before Sundance. Main Street can fill up with trucks delivering materials and construction crews arriving to build the corporate setups alongside the ski crowds that also are on the street.
Sundance recently submitted materials to City Hall that highlight the locations planned by official festival sponsors.
The Bob Wells Plaza on Swede Alley is identified again as one of the key spots, with automaker Acura set to occupy space there. A location dubbed the Acura House of Energy is planned in the high-profile space on Swede Alley. The materials submitted by Sundance indicate there will be public access to the Acura House of Energy with certain events also planned as private. The Acura location on Swede Alley is usually among the largest of the temporary installations during Sundance.
Chase Sapphire Reserve, the credit card, will operate temporarily along Main Street. The materials outline two locations for Chase Sapphire — 660 Main St. and 201 Heber Ave. — with access available to cardholders and private events also planned. The software company Adobe plans a location at 608 Main St. with public and private times.
Some of the other locations listed by Sundance:
- The Listening Lodge and The Variety Studio, with Audible presenting, at 675 Main St. The materials show the space will be private with access to the public at certain times.
- Shutterstock, 558 Main St. The materials do not provide details about access.
- The United Airlines Lodge, 751 Main St. The materials do not provide details about access.
- The Canon Creative Studio, 528 Main St. The materials indicate the location will be private with filmmaker access.
- World of Hyatt, 440 Main St. The materials do not provide details.
- The Walt Disney Company, 562 Main St. The materials indicate the location is a new venue, but they do not provide details about access.
Other interests with plans for locations include IndieWire, White Claw Hard Seltzer, Dropbox and Deadline Hollywood.
The corporate interests desire a temporary presence in Park City during Sundance for marketing purposes amid the crowds at one of the top marketplaces of independent films on the global circuit. Celebrities in some cases can be seen with the corporate logos in the background while at other times Hollywood decision makers have an opportunity to learn about industry products.
The construction of the temporary setups typically starts in the days before the festival, with work on the larger ones sometime beginning even earlier. The construction can impact public spaces, such as the upcoming closure of parking spots as the Acura House of Energy is constructed on Swede Alley.