Gov. Spencer Cox lays out where Utah can improve ahead of 2034 Winter Olympics

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — With the official confirmation that Salt Lake City will host the 2034 Winter Olympic Games looming on the horizon, city and state officials have begun turning their attention to a new question:

What do we want Utah to look like in the next 10 years?

During a monthly press conference with local reporters, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said with everything in place from venues to volunteers. He said this means state leaders can focus less on what needs to be done to be ready for 2034 and more on what they would like to do.

“What things have we been kind of dreaming about or thinking about? And now, we have a goal out there. Something we can look forward to,” said Cox.

Cox did not get specific about the vision for Utah in 2034, but he did indicate several areas where he felt Salt Lake City could improve. Chief among those was in downtown.

The transformation of the city’s core was sparked by the Smith Entertainment Group’s push to bring a National Hockey League franchise to the Beehive State. In the time since, Utah was awarded the Utah Hockey Club and plans to redevelop the area around the Delta Center have moved forward.

“The transformation of downtown Salt Lake City is the biggest thing that we could be working on right now and I appreciate that Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County has been so engaged,” Cox said.

However, Cox said the city’s transformation had nothing to do with hockey and was instead something that should have been done a long time ago.

Cox said leadership would also like to improve some of the state’s transportation issues. A main focus would be to expand public transit, strengthen the east-west corridors, and improve bike trail networks to give Utahns and global visitors more options to travel throughout the valley.

Current appropriations for the Olympics don’t include funding to upgrade any Utah infrastructure outside of improving and renovating the existing Olympic venues. Cox confirmed with reporters that Utah leadership will have discussions with the federal government to secure funding after Salt Lake City officially wins their bid.

“I always like to remind people it’s not Utah winning the Olympics, it’s the United States of America winning the Olympics,” said Cox. “We get to represent this country to the rest of the world and historically, the country has played a role in helping us get ready for those.”

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