SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Latest on Salt Lake City’s potential bid to host another Winter Olympics (all times local):
4:35 p.m.
A committee studying the possibility of Salt Lake City making a bid to host another Winter Olympics says it would rather host the games in 2030, but would be ready if for some reason they’re needed for 2026.
Committee co-chairman Fraser Bullock says they’d prefer to host the games after the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles to have a better opportunity to raise sponsorship dollars.
The group is leaning toward recommending a bid but will issue its full report to state leaders on Feb. 1. It will include a budget estimate and other detailed plans.
Even though the 2030 Olympics would normally be awarded in 2023, Bullock said Utah must have its bid ready much earlier. Bullock says there’s a chance the International Olympic Committee could award the 2026 and 2030 games at the same time in 2019.
That’s what the IOC did in September for the first time ever, awarding the 2024 Summer Olympics to Paris and the 2028 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles.
Salt Lake City would first have to persuade the United States Olympic Committee it’s a better host than Denver and Reno, Nevada, cities that have also expressed interest.
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12:25 p.m.
An exploratory committee working to determine if Salt Lake City should bid to host the Winter Olympics again in 2026 or 2030 will provide a progress report at its monthly meeting Monday.
The group made up of elected officials, business leaders and one key member of the organizing committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City is expected to make a recommendation to state leaders by Feb. 1.
The United States Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun said earlier this month that officials believe the 2030 Winter Olympics are more realistic, but they are still keeping open the possibility of making a bid for 2026.
Denver and Reno, Nevada have also expressed interest in the U.S. Internationally, cities considering making a bid include Sion, Switzerland; Calgary, Canada; Lillehammer, Norway and Sapporo, Japan.
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