The executive director of the Lava Hot Springs Foundation says there has been interest "from around the world" in using southeastern Idaho's Olympic-size pool to train Olympic swimming teams.
The drawback to a Lava Hot Springs Olympic training site, Bob Meline said, is the lack of lodging in the area."It's just a matter of logistics," Meline said. "We're going to keep the feelers and communications with these people . . . It'd be great if we could do the whole project in Lava. In the interim, we're going to try to get them to come and take a look."
France has expressed a willingness to send a cash retainer to reserve space for its team, he said, and Puerto Rico and Mexico have expressed interest in training at Lava Hot Springs.
Although local hotels and motels back the campaign, they cannot provide enough rooms to handle an Olympic delegation. Meline said the foundation is looking into the possibility of having teams commute from Pocatello.
"Things are looking up," he said. "Hopefully, we could see big things coming here."