UNIFIED ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION
Brice Wallace
Company is coming, and while their visit is still a decade away, Utahns nonetheless are working to get the house in order.
A group of dozens of stakeholders started working this summer to create a vision for what Utah will look like by the time the 2034 Winter Olympic Games take place in the state. Those discussions will continue throughout the rest of the year to create a “roadmap” for a set of priority topics.
“It’s really time to accelerate that work,” Gov. Spencer Cox said at the most recent meeting of the Unified Economic Opportunity Commission.
Ryan Starks, commission vice chair and executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, said stakeholder talks will continue. “But ultimately, by the end of the year, we want to put together a book of recommendations that will help kind of guide the direction that we go,” he said.
The final “vision” document will consist of large goals and objectives and actions to achieve them. As currently structured, the topics will focus on housing, transportation, water, energy, education and workforce development, the Utah business landscape, elevating both urban and rural Utah, quality of life, and the Olympic experience.
Utah in July was awarded the 2034 Winter Games, making it a rare location for a second Games, having hosted also in 2002. “It’s been incredible the heavy lift to finally get here, and now the real work just begins,” Cox told the commission.
Steve Starks, vice chair of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games and Olympic and Paralympic advisor to Cox, said no previous Olympics host location has been awarded the Games so far in advance.
He framed the next decade as having “two paths.” One focuses on the technical, logistical and commercial elements to make the Game successful, “and thankfully we have an incredible talent base that has been involved with the Olympic Games,” he said.
The second path considers how Utah can take advantage of hosting the Games.
“The Games are going to be incredible,” Steve Starks said. “We’ll welcome the world here once again. But when it’s over, those Games are over and we move on to the next one, if we miss the opportunity as a state to use the Games as a catalyst to accomplish broader policy goals, then we will have missed the mark, in my opinion.”
Those policy conversations might focus on, for example, Interstate 15 expansion.
“So, if we identify policy areas and then go to work with our federal partners, the Legislature under the direction of the governor, then we can accomplish both of those things in a really remarkable way: We will have welcomed the world and Utah will be better because of the Games,” he said.
Steve Starks also laid out a timeline for various actions to take place, some by year-end and some far into the future. He stressed the need for a strong state Olympic officer with government experience to spearhead those actions. The third and fourth quarters this year will concentrate on raising money through philanthropy.
“We exist from a budget standpoint for the next several years based on philanthropic dollars,” he said, noting that negotiating with potential sponsors or entering commercial contracts must wait until after the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
Utah state government will act as a financial “backstop” for the Games, with no state spending unless there is a budget shortfall. The remaining government responsibility — or opportunity — depends on the vision of state policy leaders, which he described as being “above and beyond all of the coordination and logistical support that the state will need to be heavily involved in.”
Cox mentioned that he wants every Utah county and community involved in the Games in some way and having medal winners visit Utah schools to inspire future athletes. While TV viewership of sports has been in decline for years, the Paris Games this summer experienced “a major swing” in TV ratings. The Los Angeles Games, he predicted, will be “huge,” setting up Utah for some large TV contracts, partnerships and sponsorships.
“I’m more optimistic today than I was even just two months ago when it comes to the future of the Olympics and what we’re looking at here,” the governor said.
The 2034 vision’s topics as currently constituted are:
- Housing supply and affordability to support Utah’s growing population.
- A transportation system where people can safely go where they want, when they want.
- Energy independence that leads the nation in affordability, reliability and dispatchablity.
- A resilient water supply and infrastructure.
- Education and workforce development with world-class education contributing to the workforce.
- The Utah business landscape.
- Elevating urban and rural Utah, ensuring that Olympic benefits are felt throughout the state.
- Quality of life, meaning preserving what makes Utah the best place to live, work and play.
- The Olympic experience, focused on providing an historic and inspirational Games for the world and Utah to enjoy, including ways to involve every Utahn in the Olympics.
The Utah business landscape topic currently seeks to have Utah be the top-performing economy in the nation, become home to at least one Fortune 500 company, foster an environment for Utah to be the “startup capital of the world,” create an intelligence-based economy, use the Olympics to spotlight Utah’s dynamic economy and industries, and leverage the Olympics to showcase Utah’s small businesses at an international level.
While the current focus is on the next decade, Cox said the Olympics could switch to a model featuring a rotation of locations sometime in the future. “The odds of Utah being the North American Winter Olympics site for the rest of history, every 16 years, is really, really good for us,” he said. “And that’s a legacy that can change our state forever.”