SALT LAKE CITY — Before he became governor of Massachusetts and years before he represented Utah in the U.S. Senate, Mitt Romney was known for righting the ship at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. Ta.
As Utah prepares to host the second round in 2034, Romney told state leaders on Friday that the Olympic Games will be held in the coming weeks, calling it “50 Super Bowls.” It reminded me of the scale of it. Preparations for the reconvening are already well underway, but senators warned that rising federal debt could pose unique problems for the convention in 10 years.
The federal government is responsible for security during events such as the Olympics, and Mr. Romney estimates that security and transportation costs for the 2034 Olympics could be as high as $3 billion or $4 billion.
“Ten years from now, our country could be facing very tough fiscal times,” Romney said during a panel discussion hosted by the Kem C. Gardner Institute for Policy Studies, the Hinckley Institute of Politics, and the Deseret News at Thomas S. Monson University. is high,” he said. Center Friday. “If Salt Lake went to the government and said, 'We need $3 billion or $4 billion for security and transportation,' that might not be a welcome request.”
Joining via live video stream, Romney told a panel that included Salt Lake City-Utah Convention Committee CEO Fraser Bullock and several state legislators that state leaders now need to He said now is the time to start a petition. Before Washington's financial situation deteriorates, he would set aside $200 million or $300 million annually for future games.
Los Angeles is scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2028, and Romney said Utah's congressional delegation will work with California's (a much larger state with “a lot of leverage in Washington”). He proposed that the government start securing the necessary funds.
This panel discussion was the second in a series of discussions inspired by former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt's recently published memoir, in which the solutions proposed in Utah's past will inform future policies. The focus is on how it can be used as a guideline. Levitt took office in 1993, when the state was preparing to host the 2002 Olympics.
Levitt said Utah benefits as a host state because of its volunteer culture, and said the extra effort from everyday Utahns will help the state succeed again. He recalled speaking to foreign guests during the 2002 Olympics. They were amazed to find CEOs and professors volunteering their time driving buses and cleaning hotel rooms.
“This is a statewide cooperative event. We work well together, so we can do it well,” he said. “What kind of country is this, that its citizens would do something like that?”
Romney said the 2002 Olympics went smoothly thanks to a lot of luck, but that might not be the case next time. That's why he recommends that the Legislature begin setting aside a “rainy day fund” to help the state respond to difficult times.
“Everything went almost perfectly in 2002,” he said.
