Having hosted in '02, Salt Lake City is one of the most prepared locations to host the Winter Olympics.GETTY IMAGES
The U.S. Olympic Committee is "planning to make an appointment for a potential bid city" for a future Winter Games by the end of '18, and Salt Lake City is "one of three long-noted, interested cities," along with Denver and Reno/Tahoe, according to Christopher Kamrani of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. The newly-formed Salt Lake Exec Committee for the Games met on Tuesday with the Salt Lake Olympic & Paralympic Exploratory Committee (OEC) to "brief both groups on the ongoing bid process." Additionally, Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski and Utah Senate President Wayne Niederhauser in September visited the U.S. Olympic Assembly at USOC HQ in Colorado Springs. The new SLEC, co-chaired by Biskupski and Niederhauser, was formed after the OEC completed a comprehensive report that "eventually recommended that Salt Lake City and Utah had the ability to pursue" a Winter Games bid. Biskupski said that the USOC "reiterated it will not bid" for '26. That is "likely due to the potential sapping of sponsorship and marketing deals" from the L.A. 2028 Games (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 10/31).
RENO RECONSIDERS: In Utah, Lisa Riley Roche reported the decision by the USOC to "move quickly" apparently "resulted in the 15-year-old Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition reconsidering its bid." The RTWGC said that it is reviewing the USOC's request for bid information that is due on Nov. 9 and will "only proceed if doing so makes sense for the entire region and has a viable business model" (DESERET NEWS, 10/30).
