Reminders of the 2002 Winter Olympics are nestled in every nook and cranny of UtahB次元官网网址檚 capital city, from a towering Olympic cauldron that overlooks the Salt Lake Valley to an Olympic emblem stamped on manhole covers downtown.
As visitors leave the airport, they are greeted with a canB次元官网网址檛-miss Olympic arch amid snow-capped mountains in a message essential to to host the Games again: You are entering an Olympic city.
Unlike so many other past hosts that have decided bringing back the Games isnB次元官网网址檛 worth the time, money or hassle, Salt Lake City remains one of the few places where Olympic fever still burns strong.
That enduring enthusiasm will be on full display Wednesday when members of the International Olympic Committee descend on northern Utah for their final site visits ahead of a formal announcement expected this July to name .
In the more than two decades since Salt Lake City first opened its nearby slopes to the worldB次元官网网址檚 top winter athletes, the pool of potential hosts has shrunk dramatically. The sporting spectacular is a notorious money pit, and has curtailed the number of sites capable of hosting future winter competitions.
Meanwhile, Utah has spent millions to ensure its Olympic facilities didnB次元官网网址檛 fall into disrepair while also working to ensure residents preserve fuzzy feelings about the Games themselves.
Even though Salt Lake City got caught in a bribery scandal that nearly derailed the 2002 Winter Olympics, it has worked its way back into the good graces of an Olympic committee increasingly reliant on enthusiastic communities as its options dwindle. The city is now a prime candidate if Olympic officials eventually form a .
The Olympic committee was left with for 2022 B次元官网网址� Beijing, China, and Almaty, Kazakhstan B次元官网网址� after financial, political and public concerns led several European contenders to drop out.
B次元官网网址淭he International Olympic Committee needs Salt Lake City a lot more than Salt Lake City needs the International Olympic Committee, or the Olympics,B次元官网网址� said Jules Boykoff, a sports and politics professor at Pacific University.
For Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, securing the Olympic bid is central to his goal of cementing the state as North AmericaB次元官网网址檚 winter sports capital.
Cox has continued a long-running push by state leaders to beckon professional sports leagues and welcome international events like last yearB次元官网网址檚 that could help burnish its image as a sports and tourism mecca, while chipping away at a lingering stigma that Utah is a bizarre, hyper-religious place.
More than half of the stateB次元官网网址檚 3.4 million residents and the majority of state leaders belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church.
Dave Lunt, a historian at Southern Utah University who teaches about the Olympics, said the Games give members of that faith, and other residents, a chance to clear up misconceptions and share their values with the world.
B次元官网网址淟atter-day Saints really just want to be liked. No disrespect or anything, thatB次元官网网址檚 my community, but thereB次元官网网址檚 this history of, we want to show that we fit in, weB次元官网网址檙e good Americans,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e happy to host the party at our house.B次元官网网址�
The reputational revamp that resulted from the 2002 Winter Olympics B次元官网网址� widely regarded as one of the most successful Games B次元官网网址� brought rapid growth to the region. And state and federal funds given to the city ahead of its first Olympics left Salt Lake City with a light-rail system and world-class athletic facilities.
Utah leaders are now one step away from finalizing a bid built on the assertion that they can keep costs down by using most of the same venues theyB次元官网网址檝e kept operational since 2002.
B次元官网网址淚 promise you that if every country had the infrastructure that we had, they would see it as a smart investment,B次元官网网址� Cox said at his March news conference, where he also touted public support for the bid.
Being one of the few cities still willing and able to host the Winter Games gives Salt Lake City leverage to dictate terms with the Olympic committee, Boykoff said, which can include operational funds, deadlines and even which sports are in the Games.
And with NBCB次元官网网址檚 multibillion-dollar broadcasting contract with the Olympic committee set to expire in 2032 B次元官网网址� two years before Utah would host B次元官网网址� the committee has a vested interest selecting a U.S. city in a better time zone for live broadcasts to entice NBC and other U.S.-based broadcasting giants.
In recent years, the Olympic committee has begun and scrutinizing potential hosts more carefully to ensure theyB次元官网网址檙e prepared, said Olympic historian David Wallechinsky. Public support, he said, can make or break a bid.
Unlike many cities that submitted previous bids, Salt Lake City did not hold a formal vote for residents to decide whether they wanted another Games, even as local bid leaders say their polling shows more than 80% approval statewide.
Remnants of the 2002 Winter Games remind locals that the Olympics are part of the fabric of their city, and that being a host city is a point of pride. TheyB次元官网网址檙e part of a long-term strategy Utah leaders launched on the heels of their first Olympics to maintain local support so they could host again.
But Olympic historians say that enthusiasm can distract residents from the possible downsides seen in other host cities, such as gentrification, corruption, rising taxes or empty promises of environmental improvements.
So far, no opposition has formed in Utah.
B次元官网网址淚f we consider the Olympics a cultural institution,B次元官网网址� Lunt said, B次元官网网址渕aybe itB次元官网网址檚 worth paying some money if the people of Utah decide thatB次元官网网址檚 important to us, collectively.B次元官网网址�
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