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‘Really expensive tickets’ planned for 2034 Olympics, but organizers will give Utahns some workarounds

Tickets to the 2002 Winter Games opening ceremony, photographed on Jan. 4, 2002.
Steve Griffin
/
The Salt Lake Tribune
Tickets to the 2002 Winter Games opening ceremony, photographed on Jan. 4, 2002.

Ticket revenue is expected to cover a third of the $4B bill for putting on the Winter Games. Still, 34,000 tickets will be sold for $34.

It’s official. Come 2034, Salt Lake City will host one of the world’s biggest parties. Celebrities, bands, athletes, competitive drama — local organizers want Utah’s next Winter Olympics to have it all.

After throwing a similar bash in 2002, though, they know something hard-learned by many college students: When an event is going to disturb the neighbors, they better at least be invited.

So, the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games has set aside thousands of affordable tickets for Utahns. They’ve devised a plan that allows the state’s residents to cut the ticket line. And, they may be turning to artificial intelligence to manage the way tickets are bought and distributed.

Fraser Bullock, the SLC-UT president and CEO, said the organizing committee has had to perform a balancing act when setting prices. Ticket sales will be relied upon to cover at least a third of the 2034 Games’ estimated $4 billion price tag. At the same time, organizers don’t want to shut out those who will be most impacted by the event. Namely, Utahns.

“We will be unapologetic that there’s going to be some really expensive tickets,” Bullock told state officials on the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Coordination Committee last month, “but they’re combined with hospitality. Those pay for the games. Then we’re going to have some really inexpensive tickets.

“In fact, we have 34,000 tickets that are going to be for $34. … And the tickets for the Paralympics are really inexpensive.”

Read the full story at sltrib.com.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aims to inform readers across the state.