Park City Manager Matt Dias told the city council Thursday state lawmakers are working on a big bill that would target venues for the 2034 Winter Games, which was awarded to Utah last year.
Dias said the bill, which is not yet public, will likely include “creative land use and revenue generation tools” for host locations, whether that’s Park City’s Main Street or Snowbasin.
“There is an effort to think about what’s occurring in those locations and how the state can create opportunities for those locations - to reinvest, to refurbish, to upgrade and redevelop - to have them shiny, ready and new and ready to welcome the world,” Dias said.
Dias said he expects the bill won’t gain momentum until late in the legislative session, which ends March 7.
“But beware, I think it’s going to come with potentially, there could be some land use implications, and there’s definitely some tax-increment implications,” he said. “My hope is this law would be opt in, so it gives cities and towns the ability to opt in to these increment tools.”
The Park City manager said he’s still unclear on what the bill will officially propose, as exact details aren’t known.
“We haven’t actually seen the language, but we have heard it is very, very important that official venues and jurisdictions with Olympic-level venues must receive upgrades that reflect welcoming the world in 2034 and I don’t know what that looks like yet,” Dias said.
Park City Municipal’s legislative platform says the city generally opposes any laws that aim to erode local control.
Various Wasatch Back venues are slated to host competitions at the 2034 Winter Olympics, including Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort, Utah Olympic Park and Soldier Hollow.
