The U.S. Olympic Committee is contemplating a bid for the 2026 Winter Games even though its chair, Scott Blackmun, said Friday the U.S. would “ideally” host in '30 to avoid competing with LA 2028 Summer Games for attention and revenue. That position signals to the IOC that the U.S. would consider ’26 if no viable European bid emerges. USOC execs also believe the IOC might choose hosts for ’26 and ’30 simultaneously. IOC President Thomas Bach has said he wants to return the Winter Olympics to “traditional” hosts, which means North America and Europe. "We don’t want to give up on a chance on a 2030 bid by staying out of the 2026 race,” Blackmun said. "Realistically, those are conversations that would need to happen between us and the IOC to figure out how we do that." If the U.S. puts forth a bid for ’26, it must choose a city by the end of March. The USOC is open to hearing from any city interested. However, Salt Lake City is widely seen as the best choice because of its existing winter sports infrastructure. On Sunday, voters in Innsbruck, Austria, decided against a possible ’26 Winter bid in a referendum.
