Salt Lake City should get the 2002 Winter Games, according to a top U.S. Olympic Committee official. Of, course, that's what he said about the city's failed bid for the 1998 Winter Games.
What's different this time, according to USOC Executive Director Harvey Schiller, is that another U.S. city hasn't just been picked to host a Summer Games.Backers of Salt Lake City's bid for the 1998 Winter Games were stunned when the International Olympic Committee awarded the 1996 Summer Games to Atlanta four years ago.
The selection of Atlanta over Athens, Greece, a sentimental favorite as the birthplace of the Olympics, stirred up plenty of anti-American sentiment. The 1996 Summer Games were quickly dubbed "the Coca-Cola Olympics."
Sure enough, when it came time for the IOC to choose the site of the 1998 Winter Games two years later, Salt Lake City trailed behind Nagano, Japan, in the voting.
Now it's North America's turn again to host an Olympics, Schiller said. After Atlanta, the Games head to Japan. The 2000 Summer Games were recently given to Sydney, Australia.
To make sure no other American city gets in the way of Salt Lake City's chances, Schiller said the USOC declined to put up a candidate for the 2004 Summer Games.
Salt Lake City has been the USOC's choice to represent the United States in the competition for both the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games. Schiller said it was too soon to say whether the USOC would back Salt Lake City for 2006.
In exchange for being named "America's choice," Utah officials agreed to build Olympic-caliber facilities with some $59 million in tax revenues so athletes can train and compete.
The 1994 Legislature approved selling the facilities to the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee if the city gets the 2002 Winter Games. Taxpayers would get their investment back, and $40 million would be used to set up a private foundation for athlete development.
Schiller said he is not familiar with the details of the sale but said it is positive because it pays back taxpayers while still fulfilling the contract with the USOC to develop winter sports.
Unlike other Winter Games, Schiller said an Olympics in Salt Lake City should be able to make money. He cited increases in the amount paid for broadcast rights and corporate sponsorships in recent Games.
However, Utahns will also have to resist the temptation to spend more hosting an Olympics than they expect to make. `You've got to be responsible. You don't spend money based on the come," he said.
Schiller, who was in Salt Lake City Tuesday to attend a dinner hosted by the Utah Chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, said Utahns should take pride in the bid effort.
"They should be very proud. Not just of what's been accomplished but of what's in front of them," he said, adding that the community is already benefiting from the facilities being built for the bid.
"Salt Lake has done a great job of selling the world on Salt Lake. Whether the Games were awarded before or not, it has helped this area," Schiller said. "It's been a winning situation."
If Salt Lake City doesn't get the 2002 Winter Games, he said Utahns will still see positive effects from bidding, such as world-class athletes moving to the state for training.