How an MLB stadium could help bid for another Utah winter olympics

Apr 26, 2023, 11:23 AM

There's been a flurry of conversation in recent weeks about Major League Baseball coming to Utah an...

FILE: Renderings released Wednesday depict what a new Major League Baseball stadium could look like in the Power District located on North Temple in Salt Lake City, according to Big League Utah, a group described as a broad community coalition. (Big League Utah)

(Big League Utah)

BY SIMONE SEIKALY

Digital Content Producer

SALT LAKE CITY — There’s been a flurry of conversation in recent weeks about Major League Baseball (MLB) coming to Utah and now, there’s an added element of Olympics intrigue.

Would an MLB stadium help organizers bring the Winter Olympics back to Utah? President and CEO of Utah’s Committee for the Games, Fraser Bullock said, yes, it could help.

“In the past, when baseball was a sport for the Summer Games, MLB stadiums have been used,” Bullock said. “But this is a first.”

He’s referring to the possible use of an MLB stadium during the Winter Olympic Games. He told KSL NewsRadio he’s intrigued by the possibilities a stadium holding from 35- to 55-thousand people would hold, even though no other city has done so.

“This (winter) is really the offseason for the stadium when it’s sitting empty anyway. And so there’s some synergies around that,” he said.

On Feb. 20, 2023, Bullock said that Utah and U.S. officials were both convinced that the Olympic Winter Games would return to Utah in either 2030 or 2034. At that time, he said he expected a decision in 2024, after the Summer Olympic Games in Paris.

Still, Bullock said his committee is always looking for ways to sweeten another bid to host the Winter Olympic Games. He said they keep an open mind and always have the experience of residents, athletes, and visitors at the forefront.

“How could this change the experience for our spectators, the athletes?”

While there are still a lot of “what ifs” when considering how a large stadium close to downtown would affect another bid for the Winter Olympic Games, Bullock said one possibility would be to use the stadium as a medals plaza or a “big air” stadium, as first reported by the Deseret News.

Adam Small contributed to this story.