The Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns will again be a host site for the Olympic Winter Games when they return in 2034. (Photos by Tom Haraldsen, Salt Lake Business Journal)
A future Olympic Winter Games in Kearns could help polish what city and county leaders are already calling a jewel in the Salt Lake Valley.
Those leaders, along with local athletes, met in a building adjacent to the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns on Aug. 20 for a “listening tour” discussion, part of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee’s initial efforts for planning the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The goal was to hear what the community of Kearns itself is looking and hoping for from the future Games.
Kearns Mayor Kelly Bush, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson and Brad Wilson, CEO of the committee, met with leaders behind closed doors for two hours. They later met with reporters in the Oval, even as a Zamboni machine faithfully resurfaced the ice for athletic training sessions that afternoon. All expressed optimism about the return of long track speedskating events to the same Oval that hosted those races in 2002.
“A lot of our people out here are really excited about this, but we want to make sure that everything we’re doing is going to benefit not just our community but the state of Utah,” Bush said. “This is our diamond, and we want to make it shine.”
She praised the Oval’s legacy, saying the community and the entire Wasatch Front has benefited from the venue and the way its programs have helped families.
“These are opportunities (here) that not a lot of kids get, not a lot of families get,” she said. “What we’re also looking at is economic development, making this a place where when they leave after the Olympics, they want to keep coming back here. That’s what we want to share with the world.”
“I was just impressed with Mayor Bush,” Jenny Wilson said. “She made the point that there are great things that the Olympics can bring about, but whatever is done in Kearns in the next few years has to be sustainable, and done for the right reasons — not just because we’re hosting people here for 17 days and then the Paralympics.”
Bush agreed, saying the Games’ return will be rejuvenating for Kearns. She praised the continued maintenance and public usage of the Oval. Jenny Wilson said that “the commitment to keep this venue running has been incredible. If you look at the history of the Winter Games, the continuity of the venues is not always a given. This community stepped up, the foundation stepped up. I love that this venue has been so active through the years. Hundreds of Kearns families have been able to come here and experience it and become great skaters.”
Bush said a large part of her focus will be on issues related to transportation to the venue. Brad Wilson intimated that he’d heard from the previous Games that “transportation was tricky,” one reason why Bush emphasized the need for better east-west access, something which residents on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley have been asking for for decades.
Bush said surface streets like 5400 South aren’t really east-west access solutions. Current plans for a bus rapid transit line along that roadway will help, though she would still like to see a new TRAX line someday replace it. “That would seem a lot easier for people to navigate,” she said, adding that she left the meeting feeling optimistic that state officials would work with the city to address transportation issues.
“Years ago, somebody said, let’s locate the Oval in the heart of Kearns,” Mayor Wilson said. “That was a gift to this community, but this community has given back as well. Now as we’re 8 ½ years out, it’s time to look at what is the future of Kearns, and how can the Olympics be a catalyst for the growth and development that will benefit the community for years to come.”
“It feels to me after talking to these leaders today, that the timing is right for this community to really do some thoughtful, strategic planning about what they want this area to look like and grow into,” Brad Wilson said. “How the Olympic movement, how being a hub for winter sports for the world, is going to play a part in that. It’s pretty exciting for us as an organizing committee to be able to be part of these discussions.”
He added that as the 2034 Games get closer, the frequency of events on the Oval ice will increase. Bush said the community will be ready.