It is not an issue raised only out of senti?ment, asked by those who remember the arena mostly as the site of the 1993 NBA All-Star Game or a venue during the 2002 Olympics - a true landmark in their city and state.

Instead, it is an issue of basic economics- as subtle as a straight right hand to the nose- and questions are asked because 17-year-old EnergySolutions Arena is the home of the wildly popular Utah Jazz.

In an era of unparalleled operating costs, NBA teams like the Jazz must maximize revenue streams, which includes income directly tied to their arenas.

If a building doesn't contribute to a team's bottom line, it's more than an inconvenience. It could be the death of a franchise in that particu?lar city.

In Seattle, arena issues were cited by the Sonics' new owners as their reason for moving the team to Oklahoma City.

In New Jersey, owner Bruce Ratner's up-in-the-air plan to move the Nets to Brooklyn is based partly on the shortcomings of the outdated Izod Center.

In Sacramento, voters have been hesitant to help replace Arco Arena, leading to criticism by commissioner David Stern and rumors that the Kings might be the next team to relocate.

Among the 30 NBA arenas, Energy Solutions is the the ninth-oldest.

Of the eight arenas that are older, three have been renovated in recent years and one - Amway Arena in Orlando - will be vacated in 2010-11 when the Magic move into a new $480 million home.

There is some good news for the Jazz and their fans, however. According to team president Randy Rigby, EnergySolutions Arena has not outlived its usefulness.

"We are in an older building, there's no question about that," Rigby said. "But the positive thing is, we have the structure and design in place that gives us a lot of opportunities to make modifications and extend the life of this building - easily - for another 15 years. . . . It can be a very viable and productive building for a long time."

David Carter, a professor and executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University of Southern California, calls a team's arena a "small but sig?nificant part of a dynamic set of issues that determines a fran?chise's financial viability."

Carter compares the Jazz's situation to the one faced by the NFL's Green Bay Packers , who play at Lambeau Field, which is hardly a state-of-the-art facility.

"You can be sustainable in a small market as long as there is a tremendous amount of support for the franchise and for owner?ship - like in Green Bay with the Packers ," Carter said. "All things being equal, they shouldn't be in Green Bay. But they have a very committed fan base that loves Football, loves that team, is be?hind ownership and believes the team is a community asset. If you have that, you can fight back."

Told of Carter's list of ingre?dients for small-market success, Greg Miller, the CEO of the Larry Miller Group, smiled.

"I think all those things are alive and well in this market," he said.

With an eye toward the future, the Jazz have already had experts study EnergySolutions Arena and make suggestions for making it more profitable.

"Those people mentioned: a) The unbelievably good condition the arena is in; and, b) all the glazing we have on the exterior of the building, which makes al?terations much easier," Miller said. ". . . The bottom line is we have a lot of things that people with other arenas wish they had. They are looking to retro-fit their buildings but they're looking at tens of millions of dollars to do what we can do for much less [money]."

At some point in the not-too?distant future, EnergySolutions Arena's premium seating areas will likely be expanded. So will concession and retail space.

"The design of this building allows us to consider many things," said Rigby, who won?dered aloud how an ESPN Zone restaurant might fare in the arena.

"Most teams are finding the premium [seating] experience is what a lot of fans and corpora?tions are looking for - closer touches with the players and more intimate touches. That's where we see the revenue growth coming from - those type of areas."

Miller downplays compari?sons to the Jazz's situation with the one that contributed to the Sonics' move from Seattle.

"We have a distinct advan?tage," he said, "because different entities controlled the arena in Seattle. Here, we control our arena and we control our team and we've always been able to get along with ourselves."

Seriously, Miller does not envision a scenario where the con?dition of EnergySolutions Arena would force the sale of the Jazz to an owner who would move them. "Our family is from Utah," Miller said. "My parents were both born and raised here. I was born here. This is home. . . . My dad has spoken at length about his feelings for this city and this state. This team is way for him to give back to a community he loves and has been very good to our family. I don't see that ever being an issue. As long as it makes any sense at all, we'll be here."

luhm@sltrib.com