Deseret News Archives - June 16, 1995
Finally, after three decades of trying, the Olympics are coming to Utah.
Salt Lake City was named the host of the 2002 Winter Games Friday, winning the majority of votes cast in a secret ballot by members of the International Olympic Committee.
Salt Lake City was widely regarded as the front-runner in this campaign, due to the technical strength of its bid. An IOC evaluation panel ranked it above all other candidates earlier this year. But Utah's bid boosters were never assured of victory. Quebec, Canada; Sion, Switzerland; and Ostersund, Sweden, also earned high marks from the panel and ran strong campaigns.
They along with Salt Lake City were named finalists in the race for the 2002 Winter Games by the IOC in January. Five other contenders in Russia, Austria, Italy, Slovakia and Spain were eliminated.
Quebec had been considered Salt Lake City's toughest rival because of geography. The 2002 Winter Games were expected to be sited in North America after two Olympics in Europe and one in Asia. Canada had the last Winter Games in North America, when the western city of Calgary hosted the Olympics in 1988.
Besides a North American location, Salt Lake City also offered the IOC the best-prepared bid. Many facilities are already built or under construction, including a bobsled and luge run near Park City.
And Salt Lake City has the needed infrastructure to handle the hundreds of thousands of visitors anticipated during the Olympics, including transportation and lodging.
Preparations for staging the $800 million, two-week event in February 2002 are expected to begin later this year with the creation of an Olympic organizing committee.
All of the money needed to host the Olympics will be raised from the sale of broadcast rights, corporate sponsorships, tickets and memorabilia, bid committee officials have said.
Besides earning enough to put on the Winter Games, they are counting on enough to buy the bobsled and luge run and other Olympic facilities already being built with $59 million in tax dollars.
The Utah Winter Sports Park near Park City boasts year-round ski jumping. An Olympic ice rink is already open in Ogden, and a speed-skating oval is under construction in Kearns.
The state agreed to build the facilities in exchange for being named the U.S. candidate for the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games by the USOC. The facilities are used for training by both top-ranked and beginning athletes.
Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee officials had said that win or lose, this would be Utah's last bid. The city bid four times before, for the 1972, 1976, 1992 and 1998 Winter Games. Utah couldn't afford another attempt, since the past two campaigns alone cost more than $14 million.
