When the International Olympic Committee comes to Utah next week to see firsthand where events would be held at a 2034 Winter Games, the sites they visit will be familiar to anyone who remembers the last time the state hosted an Olympics.
The venues planned for 2034 were used in the 2002 Winter Games, but there would be some differences between the two Olympics, according to new details released Wednesday by the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games that’s behind the bid.
More events would be located in downtown Salt Lake City, with curling competitions at the Salt Palace Convention Center that would also serve again as the main media center, and a temporary big air ski and snowboard jump set to be built on Block 85, where nightly medals ceremonies were held in 2002 and would be again in 2034.
“Look at the vibe of downtown Salt Lake, what it’s going to be like,” Fraser Bullock, the bid committee’s president and CEO, said of adding to what he said was already a nexus for 2002 Games-goers. “It’s just going to be the heart of a great deal of fantastic activitiy. What we’re trying to do is bring sport to the people.”
The Weber County Ice Sheet in Ogden, site of curling competitions in 2002, would no longer be a venue in the next Olympics due to limited spectator seating, and all alpine skiing events would be be moved to Snowbasin in nearby Huntsville instead of some also being held at the Deer Valley and Park City resorts.
A 15-member delegation made up of IOC members serving on the Switzerland-based organization’s Future Host Commission and staff are scheduled to arrive in Utah on April 9 and spend the next three days touring venues, then leave on April 13 after holding a news conference.
IOC leaders named Salt Lake City the preferred host for the 2034 Games late last year, advancing the bid to what’s known as the targeted dialogue phase of the new, less formal selection process where details are finalized in anticipation of signing a contract to host the event following the final vote.
The Future Host Commission is visiting ahead of submitting a reporting to IOC leaders in June, who’ll decide then whether to send Salt Lake City’s bid for the 2034 Winter Games to that final vote of the full membership, anticipated to be held in Paris on July 24, celebrated as Pioneer Day in Utah.
Bullock said the commission members have already reviewed the venue plan. but now need to see the sites in person.
“It’s one thing to look at a picture. It’s a whole other thing to be able to walk through a venue,” the bid leader said. “It gives you a whole different experience so when they go back with this important charge to talk to their colleagues they can say with confidence, ‘Yes, I’ve been there. I’ve seen this. The plan works. The people are ready.’”
Changes from 2002 in where competitions would be held in 2034 for the Olympics and the Paralympics that follow for athletes with disabilities mean another Games in Utah would seem “very familiar because we’re using all the same venues but we shuffled the deck somewhat because we have so many new, exciting events,” Bullock said.
There’s been nearly a 40% increase in the number of Winter Games competitions since 2002, and big changes are in the works if Salt Lake City succeeds in attracting new Major League Baseball and National Hockey League teams. Lawmakers already have approved funding plans for a new baseball stadium and hockey arena if that happens.
Both facilities could be utilized as Olympic venues. Bullock has already talked about the possibility of holding the big air competitions and the medals ceremonies in the new baseball stadium proposed for what’s been dubbed the Power District on the city’s west side, near the state fairgrounds.
“Ten years is a long time, and event locations will evolve based on ownership changes, new sports, or new venue opportunities,” he said, adding there will be “time to evaluate the best placement.”
For Ogden, though, Bullock said the decision has been made not to proceed with planning to expand spectator capacity from 2,000 seats to the 5,000 or more sought by the sport because that wouldn’t be needed post-Games at a facility that’s used by the community.
“It turned out to be a wonderful legacy story. However, the popularity of curling has exploded,” he said, adding that relocating the sport to temporary ice and more seat at the Salt Palace is a more sustainable way to accommodate the larger crowds.
Weber County would still host “premier events” at Snowbasin, Bullock said, this time including the slalom that was at Deer Valley in 2002 and the giant slalom that was at Park City. In 2034, both Deer Valley and Park City would host freestyle skiing events and Park City would also be the site of some snowboarding competitions.
Organizers would also help promote skiing at all three resorts during a 2034 Games, Bullock said, through packaged deals that would include Olympic tickets and hospitality along with lift tickets so buyers could hit the slopes even on the same days the world’s best athletes would be competing nearby.
Over the Easter weekend, the bid committee turned in the guarantees required by the IOC, including venue contracts along with those from local, state and federal governments. Utah lawmakers agreed last year the state would be responsible for the now $2.45 billion price tag for the Olympics, should the privately raised revenues fall short.
“It’s really the same situation as we had last time with the state as the ultimate backstop. It’s our job as the organizing committee to make sure we never come even close to that,” Bullock said. The budget relies on money raised largely through the sale of sponsorships, broadcast rights and tickets.
