Opinion: What another Olympics will mean for Utah

Before Wednesday morning, 10 cities worldwide had the privilege of hosting an Olympic games more than once. Only two U.S. cities, Los Angeles and Lake Placid, were on that list. Now, Salt Lake City and the state of Utah can look forward to joining this elite club.

The announcement that came while much of the state was asleep Wednesday morning should make everyone who lives here proud and excited.

Twenty-two years ago, some may have wondered if the Beehive state was capable of hosting such a large event on a world stage. Some may have questioned whether organizers could stay within budget, and whether volunteers could provide a quality, world-class experience at each venue. Skeptics sneered at a bidding “scandal” that captured headlines and little else.

This time around, there were no doubts. Utah has been the preferred site for the 2034 Winter Games since last year. And with good reason.

The 2034 bid is a triumph for the entire state. More specifically, it is a testament to the leadership of Fraser Bullock, the CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, who also served as chief operating officer of the 2002 Winter Games. It also is a testament to Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who headed those 2002 games so ably, instilling a sense of confidence that has lasted through the years.

It also is a recognition that Utah’s leaders have wisely preserved and updated venues from 2002, using them to host worldwide competitions and to reduce the costs associated with preparing once more for the biggest world stage. Each of Utah’s governors for more than two decades have played a supportive role in putting forth the strength of the state and Utah’s bid.

The differences between ‘02 and now are enormous, but they may be illustrated best by a feeling that the IOC needed to “grab Salt Lake City while it can,” rather than the other way around. That was the sentiment of Rich Perelman , who has been closely involved with the Olympics for more than 40 years. The founder and editor of The Sports Examiner, he expressed his feelings in a January 2023 column.

He said, “the IOC would be wrong to simply assume that Salt Lake City is a permanent bidder that it can take for granted.”

The world wants Utah at least as much as Utah wants it.

Any worries leading up to 2002 were quickly buried beneath a blizzard of exciting competition and good will. Utah’s volunteers were gracious hosts. The Wasatch Front seemed to embrace the thousands of visitors from across the globe.

Perhaps the biggest evidence of this lies in how many people are anxious to host the games again. A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by HarrisX last month found 79% of Utahns are in favor of hosting the 2034 Olympics.

With Wednesday’s announcement, the Wasatch Front has what Bullock calls a long runway — nearly 10 years lead time until the opening ceremonies begin. It’s a runway filled with many good things.

The University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute released an eight-page report recently that predicted the Games would generate new jobs, income and $6.6 billion in economic output during that decade.

That’s less than the estimated $7.5 billion generated by the 2002 games. But the difference lies in the fact Utah does not need to reconstruct venues that have been left in place since those games — and those venues have continued to generate money as living legacies to those earlier Olympics.

The report said the run-up to the games also would generate almost $3.9 billion in state gross domestic product, more than 42,000 job-years of employment and another $2.5 billion in personal income.

Add to this the inestimable benefit of having beautiful pictures from Utah beamed worldwide for several days in a row — a reputation boost that will result in tourism and economic development.

Of course, there are risks. Utahns are well aware of these. Wars and international political events can intrude, as they almost did when 9/11 happened five months before the 2002 Olympics. Utah’s Olympics leaders handled those troubles deftly back then, and they are uniquely qualified to do so again. The Olympics have a way of healing and uniting a troubled world through competition.

Utah, meanwhile, has demonstrated it is capable of hosting such a world-class event for a second time, and likely many times more.