Salt Lake City, Utah — While many recent Olympic hosts have stumbled through the preparation process, Utah appears to be ready to host another Olympics as soon as possible.
FOX 13 Utah reports that the Salt Lake City, Utah, 2034 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games Host Committee meeting featured positive developments regarding the future hosts. Even though the games are roughly eight years away, the venues and 21,000 hotel rooms have been secured for February 2034. The venues will basically be the same as the 2002 games, meaning nothing new will need to be built.
In the meeting, topics were discussed like public financing, tickets, and volunteering.
During the meeting, public financing was discussed. A major talking point regarding 2034 is that Utah won’t be using taxpayer funds to finance the games. Thanks to the help of donors, almost $150 million has been raised so far for the games. The one caveat is that costs are expected to improve public infrastructure. However, Utah is a rapidly growing state, so it could be argued that the Olympics are helping accelerate projects that may or may not have happened. It would be cool to see some new transit projects take shape from this new Olympics… like a train route to Park City. Not the Little Cottonwood gondola, though, because that would be an eyesore.
Some concern is whether the games will be affordable for locals to experience. They did say in the meeting that there will be affordable options for visitors. There will also be pricey options, which are meant to finance the games. The Olympic Committee will be looking for volunteers, which will help tens of thousands of people experience the games. In 2002, 25,000 volunteers helped pull the games off.
More details regarding the games will be revealed in the years ahead. The next Olympics are coming to Italy and will occur in February 2026.
Image Credits: Brent Pace, Salt Lake City 2034
