Think it's easy getting in the Olympic spirit? Piece of cake? Think again.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee made the announcement of downtown Block 85 being its preferred site of the medals ceremony for 2002 -- the place where tiny figure skaters and huge bobsledders will receive their medals nightly -- and a verbal fight immediately broke out.City officials don't like the Block 85 site. Never have, probably never will. They look at the mass of nothing but asphalt across from the Triad Center and see nothing but asphalt. They wanted the nightly medals ceremonies of 2002 to be held on the grounds of the City & County Building, just like the announcement ceremony in June of 1995 when 40,000 people stood on the lawn to hear we'd won the bribe, er, bid.
SLOC planners don't like the City & County Building grounds. Never have, probably never will. They look at the grass and all those trees and see a cramped space that's way too far from key Olympic venues such as the Salt Palace and the Delta Center -- both kitty-corner from Block 85.
They look at Block 85 and see room for all the pin-sellers and other merchandisers to set up their tents. They also see the $5 million offered by the LDS Church, Block 85's owner, to turn the parking lot into a proper medals plaza.
SLOC compared the $5 million Block 85 offer to the $0 City & County grounds offer and came to a quick decision.
Block 85 it is -- for the gold, the silver and the bronze.
The city petulantly says it will put SLOC through hoops before Block 85 will ever be approved.
Maybe it lost, but it doesn't have to be gracious about it.
Neither a special events permit nor a temporary use permit will be granted if all concerns aren't answered, from parking to mass transit to security and everything bureaucratic in between.
The city says it's especially concerned about traffic congestion if 300 West is shut down and will not tolerate problems for commuters during the 17 days of the Olympics.
This is the same city that recently sold a whole street in the middle of downtown and has shut down its freeway exits and entrances for years at a time.
But, then, turmoil surrounding Block 85 is nothing new.
You think you've had a rough year.
It was in Block 85 in August that the Outdoor Retailers tent was blown to bits by the first F2 tornado to roll through Salt Lake City in at least two centuries.
It was in Block 85 in April that police blew up a truck suspected to be connected to the fatal shooting at the nearby genealogy library (it wasn't).
It was in Block 85 in January that police officers set up command posts to monitor the fatal shooting across the street at the Triad Center.
Now, the block's own city fathers, and mothers, don't want it to ever be anything more than a parking lot.
I walked Block 85 this past Friday afternoon.
Temperatures were in the 70s. People passing by were in shorts and shirtsleeves.
There was no wind. No clouds in the blue sky. Not much smog.
This wasn't going to be easy.
Still, as I stood in the middle of the parking lot, I imagined climbing to the top of the Olympic podium, turning to the adoring throngs shivering in the chill February night air, bending down to allow Juan Antonio to hang my gold medal around my neck, then standing at full attention while they raised my country's flag and played the national anthem.
One day it will be a magical place, just as one day the Olympics will be fun and games and warmth and sport.
But not now. Now, the Olympics are a fight not in, but over, a parking lot.
Send e-mail to benson@desnews.com, fax 801-237-2527. Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.