Americans in all 50 states could have a chance to see the Olympic flame on its way to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Games.
Or not.It all depends on -- surprise -- money.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee announced Thursday that ALEM International of Boulder, Colo., has been hired to put together the event.
But what organizers don't know yet is what kind of financial backing they'll get from corporate sponsors who have until mid-summer to come up with offers of support.
Their response could make the difference between the torch traveling through all 50states or just five, said Shelley Thomas, the SLOC vice president overseeing the event.
"The size and scope of the relay is determined by the amount of sponsor underwriting," Thomas said. She said a decision should be made by the end of the summer.
Coca-Cola spent millions of dollars to be named the "Presenter of the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay in the United States" for the Summer Games in Atlanta. Other companies, including Delta Air Lines and Holiday Inn, also chipped in.
In 1996, the Olympic flame traveled 15,000 miles through 42 states including Utah before being used to ignite a cauldron in the main stadium that stayed lit throughout the Atlanta Games.
A spokesman for Coca-Cola said the company wants to be part of the Salt Lake event but wasn't expecting to hear details about the torch relay from SLOC until July.
"Coca-Cola is indeed interested in participating in the 2002 torch relay, and we look forward to the opportunity to do so," Scott Jacobson, the Atlanta-based spokesman, said.
So far, only Marker Ltd. is committed to Salt Lake's torch relay. The Utah-based sportswear company, the first sponsor of the Games since the bid scandal broke late last year, is the official outfitter for the torch relay.
Sponsors have been scarce for the Games since details surfaced of the $1 million-plus spent on cash, gifts and other inducements to win the votes of International Olympic Committee members selecting a 2002 host city.
Finding sponsors is also a challenge for the Paralympics, the international competition for disabled athletes that follow the Winter Games. Games sponsors are offered a chance to buy a separate sponsorship for the Paralympics.
So far, Anheuser Busch, AT&T, NationsBank (now Bank of America), Home Depot, Lucent Technologies, Seiko, Texaco and US WEST have agreed to sponsor the Paralympics.
Joann Klonowski, who was named Thursday to head up the 2002 Paralympics, said she's not concerned about the scandal's effect. Klonowski was the vice president of sponsors and ticketing for the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta.
"When there's something that goes wrong, such as a scandal, you fix it and go forward. That's the best you can do," Klonowski said, adding that she believes that's what SLOC has done.