Lawmakers will be asked during the 1994 Legislature to approve the sale of the state's Olympic facilities to the privately funded organization that's bidding for the 2002 Winter Games.
The deal has already been endorsed by the Utah Sports Authority, the state agency that oversees the $59 million budget for the ski jumps, ice rinks, speed skating oval and the bobsled and luge run being built with tax dollars.Also supporting the sale is the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee, which stands to take over all of the facilities in April 1999 under the proposed terms.
The price tag for the facilities is $99 million, including a $40 million legacy fund to be administered by a yet-to-be created private foundation that would also assume ownership of the facilities from the bid committee in 2002.
Even if the Legislature approves the deal, it would only become effective if Salt Lake City is awarded the 2002 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee in June 1995.
The Legislature's Sports Oversight Committee discussed the terms of the deal but put off recommending its passage pending answers to questions about how much control the state would have over the facilities once they're sold.
Those are the same questions Gov. Mike Leavitt said he wants answered before he signs off on the deal. Representatives of his office and the oversight committee are working to draft a more detailed proposal.
That proposal may be reviewed by the oversight committee before it is introduced at the Legislature. The oversight committee includes local government representatives as well as lawmakers.
Local governments agreed to give up 1/64th of a cent of their share of sales tax to fund the construction of the Olympic facilities. The state is also allocating 1/64th of a cent of sales tax to the project.
The money raised during the 10 years that the sales-tax revenues is being set aside is expected to total $59 million, enough to build and maintain the facilities through the 2002 Winter Games.
Backers of the deal have said turning over the facilities to a private foundation will relieve taxpayers of any further responsibility for maintenance and other ongoing costs.
They have also said that the deal needs to be approved this session because of a fall deadline for turning in a proposed Games budget to the IOC, a budget that would include the sale price.