Will Utah’s Olympic venues help secure the 2034 games?

SALT LAKE CITY —  As Utah makes its final pitch for the 2034 games, one major selling point will be the condition and location of the Olympic venues. 

“We have fantastic venues that are not only in place, but they are busy. They are first and foremost community resources where our kids go.  They learn to skate and they go up to Utah Olympic Park and jump into the pool,” said Fraser Bullock, the president of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the games. 

Thanks to a $76 million endowment left over from the 2002 games, the venues have been maintained and updated. 

Olympic venue locations

Additionally, the bid committee will highlight how close the venues are to the Olympic Village. 

Bullock said in most other host cities, the venues are several hours away. Some cities even have multiple villages. 

“I think one of the biggest benefits that we have that is unique anywhere in the world, is the proximity of all the venues because they’re all within a one-hour drive of the village,” said Bullock. 

Bullock said in some host cities venues are as much as five hours away. He said that separates the athletes and makes it harder to get around.

“I can go and see an event at Utah Olympic Park in the morning and then I can go to [a] speed skating event in early afternoon,” said Bullock. “And then I can go to Delta Center to watch figure skating that night and then I can go to a celebration downtown.”

The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city of the 2034 Olympics on July 24. KSL NewsRadio will be live with coverage starting at 3 a.m. 

Don Brinkerhoff is a reporter and producer for KSL NewsRadio.  

More Olympic coverage:

• Utah Olympic delegation jets off to Paris
• Call for 2034 Winter Olympic Games volunteers has begun
• 25 Utah athletes headed to the Paris Olympics

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