Local tourism officials are printing 1 million copies of their new brochure about the 2002 Winter Games - without a planned introduction about Salt Lake City that included references to Temple Square and area bars.
The brochure about the Olympics released Tuesday dropped some of the information highlighted in a mock-up submitted to the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.The reason? "My naivete regarding the legal ramifications of doing anything with the Olympic logo," said Rick Davis, head of the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau, which proposed the brochure.
Davis said he was advised by bureau attorneys that anything "non-Olympic" should be dropped. That included a dozen paragraphs at the beginning of the brochure about Salt Lake City.
"There could have been a great deal more promotional material in there, but because it had the Olympic rings and logo, it could only refer to different Olympic venues," Davis said.
SLOC spokeswoman Shelley Thomas said organizing committee attorneys did not review the brochure. "I wouldn't say it's a legal issue," Thomas said of the changes made.
"There isn't an edict or a law that says we can't talk about other stuff. We just never have," she said. "We're just supposed to talk about the Olympics."
Asked if there was concern about the information that was left out, Thomas said, "I don't know if it's controversial. Our charge is to talk about the Olympics."
So gone are references to area attractions, ranging from "historic Mormon Temple Square" to "300 watering holes - as in brewpubs, bars, lounges and clubs" and "some extremely lusty, feisty entertainment offerings . . . ."
Also edited out is a description of Salt Lake City as "invitingly historic" with "an eclectic cultural scene . . . a sophisticated metropolis with hometown friendliness."
Now there's just a single paragraph that says Salt Lake City is "one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the United States" and is located on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains.
Davis had presented a mock-up of the original brochure to Olympic organizers for approval earlier this year, offering to print 1 million copies at a cost of about $150,000.
The brochure is intended to be used by the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and others - including Olympic organizers - to respond to inquires about the 2002 Winter Games.
It does have information on every venue site and a map pinpointing where skiing, skating and sledding events will be held. Besides the Salt Lake area, venues are located in Park City, Provo, Ogden and Wasatch County.
There's also a panel with the names, addresses, phone numbers and Web sites of various agencies that can provide additional information, such as the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Utah Travel Council.
Although the money for the brochure came from the Salt Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau budget, Davis said other agencies have agreed to purchase and distribute copies to help offset the cost.
Those agencies include Ski Utah, the Utah Winter Sports Park, the U.S. Forest Service, the Ogden/Weber Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Heber Valley Chamber of Commerce and the state Division of Parks and Recreation.