Utah’s Olympic organizing committee CEO Brad Wilson visited the Utah Olympic Park in Kimball Junction Dec. 5.
He said he’s encouraged about city and county collaboration after conversations with Park City Mayor Nann Worel and Summit County Council Vice Chair Canice Harte. And Wilson said there will be ways for residents to get involved, too.
“So stay tuned for that, including, as we get closer to the Games in ‘34, there will be an increased frequency of ‘test events,’” Wilson said. “People can come and watch those, volunteer for those, and all of that's going to be part of the strategy as we think about this community.”
Events at the Olympic venues like Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the UOP will help civic leaders see what works and what doesn’t before the Games return.
And Wilson said it also helps athletes around the globe who will want to test out the venues before competition day.
“As we get closer to the Games in ‘34, you'll see more of the international federations and national governing bodies want to do more events here to get their athletes ready for the Games in ‘34,” he said.
Speed skaters returned to the Olympic Oval in Kearns for a world cup competition in November, for example. Aerialists and mogulists will be back at Deer Valley come January.
Even eight years out, Harte said transportation initiatives are high on the local government’s priority list.
“And just how we're going to move people around not just for the Games — that's obviously a critical time — but really just day-to-day life leading up to the Games and beyond,” the county councilmember said.
He said that Park City and Summit County communications and emergency crews want to make sure they’re ready to handle the safety and behind-the-scenes logistics of hosting the Olympics, too.
State and local leaders emphasized they are collaborating early in the planning process to ensure Utah delivers a successful 2034 Winter Games.
KPCW’s Kristine Weller contributed to this report.
