Olympics
On Wednesday, July 24, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided that the Winter Olympics will return to Salt Lake City in 2034. The Winter Olympics’ return to Salt Lake City was mostly due to the fact that the infrastructure from the 2002 Winter Olympics is still usable and that there was strong public support for the bid, with about 80% of Utah residents wanting the Winter Games to return. In 2034, three ski resorts will be hosting the Olympic events, along with Utah Olympic Park, and a couple of other venues.
- Related: French Alps and Salt Lake City, UT, Selected as 2030 & 2034 Winter Olympics Hosts Respectively
Deer Valley
Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, will host freestyle moguls and aerials, as it previously did in 2002. The resort will reuse its competition venues from 2002, which it has kept operable. These competition venues have been consistently used for FIS World Cup moguls events.
Park City
Park City Mountain Resort in Park City, Utah, will be hosting all slopestyle skiing and snowboarding events, as well as all halfpipe skiing and snowboarding events. Park City hosted all of these events back in 2002, and the resort will use the same infrastructure to do so again. Park City made history at the 2002 Olympics, building the first 22-foot (6.7-meter) tall halfpipe used in the Winter Games.
Snowbasin
Snowbasin Resort, located in Huntsville, Utah, about 45 minutes from Salt Lake City, will host all alpine skiing events at the Olympics. These events include men’s and women’s super-g and downhill skiing. The resort also hosted these events during the 2002 Winter Olympics, from which the courses still remain intact, allowing them to be used again in 2034. Snowbasin was selected for these events in 2002 because it was the only resort that had a long enough ski run to be used in competition. In fact, Snowbasin at the time built a tram before the Olympics in order to make the course longer.
- Related: Snowbasin Resort, UT, Welcomes IOC as Proposed Venue for Alpine Skiing in Salt Lake City Olympic Bid
Utah Olympic Park
Utah Olympic Park will be hosting all of the remaining skiing and snowboarding events that are not taking place at the three other ski resorts listed above. Ski cross, snowboard cross, and snowboard parallel racing will all take place at the park, along with ski jumping. Utah Olympic Park has been in operation since the 1990s and has been a place where Olympic athletes from all over the world can train during winter and summer.
Other Venues
Along with these four ski resorts, there are a few other venues that are hosting events at the Olympics. The opening and closing ceremonies will both be held at the Rice-Eccles stadium on the University of Utah Campus. The University of Utah will also be providing housing for athletes and their families. Other venues include the Delta Center, located in downtown Salt Lake City, which will host short-track speed skating and figure skating, and the Utah Olympic Oval, which will host long-track speed skating. The Peaks Ice Arena and Maverik Center will both host ice hockey. Cross-country skiing, biathlon, and Nordic combined skiing events will be hosted at the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, as they were in 2002.
Park Place (Block 85) of downtown Salt Lake City will be a hub for Olympic events. There will be a big air ramp erected at Park Place for the newly introduced Olympic events of big air skiing and snowboarding. Medal ceremonies for the athletes will also be hosted at Park Place.
