The Larry H. Miller Group's decision to rename the Delta Center after new sponsor, EnergySolutions, has Utah activist group, HEAL Utah, up in arms.

Since 1991, the Delta Center had been home to the Utah Jazz. On Nov. 20, the Miller Group announced the renaming of the Delta Center to the EnergySolutions Arena. Along with the renaming, EnergySolutions garnered exclusive sponsorship and advertising rights for the next 10 years, according to a Miller Group media release.

EnergySolutions specializes in many nuclear services, including high-level waste management. EnergySolutions, based out of Salt Lake City, currently operates the nation's largest and most comprehensively licensed commercial low-level radioactive waste facility 80 miles west of Salt Lake, according to the EnergySolutions Web site.

HEAL Utah, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah, is a grassroots activist group committed to protecting Utah's environment and overall health from nuclear and toxic waste, according to HEAL Utah's Web site.

Before last week's Utah vs. San Antonio game, nearly 40 HEAL Utah members protested the renaming outside the EnergySolutions Arena. Protestors carried signs referring to the arena as "the glow dome," the "melta center," the" radium stadium" and the "tox box."

"We were there asking Jazz fans to encourage Larry Miller to reconsider branding Utah with radioactivity," said Vanessa Pierce, executive director for HEAL Utah.

Protestors handed out 500 glow sticks and asked patrons to sign a petition addressed to the Miller Group.

"The Utah Jazz are much like Utah's ambassador for the rest of the country, which would make their arena their embassy," Pierce said. "It's not something Utahns want, or the image we want portrayed publicly."

The Miller Group disagreed. They approached EnergySolutions when they were looking for a new sponsor.

"We approached EnergySolutions because of their involvement in the community and the values we hold in common," said Linda Luchetti, vice president of communications for Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment. "They fit with what we're trying to do. We both emphasize education and the importance of giving back to the community."

EnergySolutions was a natural choice as a new partner for the Miller Group because they are a national company headquartered in Salt Lake City, said Mark Walker, director of marketing and media relations for EnergySolutions.

"We anticipated this response," Walker said. "If you look at the history of HEAL Utah, they're a radical extremist group that continually protest against us, and they have that right. However, we view ourselves as environmentalists."

EnergySolutions takes pride in their efforts to clean up areas that are contaminated and safely storing the radioactive waste that is a byproduct of nuclear energy, Walker said.

Last week, EnergySolutions received a grant from the government to help them advance their technology to recycle spent nuclear fuel, Walker said.

As far as renaming the Delta Center, Luchetti expects it will take time for the new name to become a part of Utah vernacular.

Copyright Brigham Young University 7 Dec 2006