A USOC contingent led by CEO Sarah Hirshland was in Salt Lake City yesterday for a "one-day visit" to evaluate the city as a potential host site for the '30 Games, and Utah officials showed venues used in the '02 Games are "still as active as ever," according to a front-page piece by Christopher Kamrani of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Many sites are "still part of respective World Cup and World Championship calendars each winter." One of the tour stops included Univ. of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium, where the school earlier in the day announced progress toward an $80M bond for "expansion of the stadium" that hosted the '02 Opening and Closing ceremonies. A "rare joint meeting" of the Utah state Senate and House took place, where politicians "welcomed the USOC." Hirshland was joined on the trip by USOC Chair Larry Probst, Chief External Affairs Officer Patrick Sandusky, BOD member and incoming Chair Susanne Lyons and USOC Chief Bid & Protocol Officer Christopher Sullivan. A report from state officials earlier this year "stated that another Olympics ... would cost" around $1.29B -- less than the '02 Games. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert yesterday said that a future Games would "involve public as well as private funding." Kamrani noted that recent statewide polls projected as much as 89% of Utahns "would support another Olympics in Utah" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 11/15).
SEEING BOTH CITIES: The USOC visited Denver on Tuesday regarding its interest in the '30 Games, and members of the Denver Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games Exploratory Committee (DOPWGEC) shared "comprehensive operational and financial details" that had previously been included in a report to the USOC. Officials from the USOC were "scheduled to spend Tuesday in Denver," meeting with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock (DENVER POST, 11/14). Local officials "insist any Winter Games hosted in Colorado wouldn't use taxpayer funds." DOPWGEC Chair Rob Cohen said that the committee "met with the USOC to further discussions about the possibility of hosting a privately-funded Winter Games" (THEDENVERCHANNEL.com, 11/13).
