Utah 'ready' to host 2026 Olympics


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah intends to make another run at Olympic gold.

Gov. Gary Herbert announced Monday that Utah and Salt Lake City are "ready, willing and able" to host the Winter Games in 2026.

"I don't think this announcement is a big surprise for a lot of people," he said.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker said he "wholeheartedly" endorses the idea of taking on the Games again. Salt Lake City would be the host city.

Both Becker and Herbert say the state is well-positioned financially and otherwise to host the Games.

The decision comes after the state's Olympic Exploratory Committee unanimously recommended in October that Salt Lake City go after the worldwide sporting event.

"Utah's Olympic legacy is strong and vibrant and ready to provide the foundation for a future Olympic Winter Games," the committee stated in a 36-page report. The committee, made up of business, government, sports and community leaders, received no negative comments about trying for a repeat of the 2002 Winter Games during months of meetings, officials said.


I don't think this announcement is a big surprise for a lot of people.

–Gov. Gary Herbert


The U.S. Olympic Committee still hasn't decided whether to field an American bid city for 2026. In July, the USOC dashed Salt Lake City's hopes of bidding for the 2022 Winter Games by announcing it would sit out the competition.

The USOC is currently trying to determine whether it might be better to bid for the 2024 Summer Games rather than the 2026 Winter Games, a decision expected sometime in the next two years.

Even if the USOC decides to accept bids for 2026, an American contender likely won't be chosen for at least another four years. The International Olympic Committee will name the 2026 Winter Games host city in 2019.

Both Denver and the Reno-Tahoe area were actively seeking to be selected as the USOC's choice for 2022, and both are waiting on what the USOC decides about 2026 before resuming their efforts.

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The report pegs the cost of a bid at less than $1 million at the USOC level and between $25 million and $30 million to compete internationally. All of the bid costs would be paid privately, the report states.

The proposed budget for hosting the 2026 Games is $1.67 billion, about $300 million more than the price tag for 2002. The costs aren't as high as they might be for another city due projected savings on planning costs and venue construction.

The only cost to taxpayers identified in the budget is $85 million to upgrade the bobsled, luge and skeleton track, speedskating oval and other Olympic facilities. The budget calls for the money to be repaid from Olympic revenues, and another $75 million to be set aside for post-Games operating expenses.

Those facilities were built for the 2002 Games with $59 million in tax dollars that was paid back, along with $40 million toward operating expenses expected to keep the facilities open through 2030.

The report said the 2026 Games could be expected to produce a $5 billion economic impact, provide the equivalent of more than 30,000 jobs that last a year and generate more than $75 million in revenues to state and local governments.

Contributor: John Daley

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