Hosting a second Winter Games in 2034 is “an Olympic-sized opportunity” for the state, according to a new report released Tuesday by the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.
“Few single events in Utah history compare in reach and significance,” states the institute’s second “Keepers of the Flame” report, citing an estimated 15 billion viewer hours of coverage expected during the Olympics and the Paralympics that follow for athletes with disabilities.
That puts pressure on the state to tackle what the report described as “Utah’s Troubling Seven” challenges, just as the 2002 Winter Games pushed officials to deal with problems like I-15 gridlock and the need for more public transportation.
“Even with Utah’s well-documented exceptional economy, our state is changin