Park City officials are preparing to secure funding from the city's budget for efforts to host a second Winter Olympics.
City Hall's fiscal year 2025 budget, which runs from mid-2024 to mid-2025, appears to be $75,000. The funds will be used for a variety of purposes, and City Hall is expected to be one of the key institutions in the Olympic planning.
The International Olympic Committee is expected to name Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Olympics at a meeting in Paris this summer on the eve of the opening of the Summer Olympics in the French capital. The Park City area is critical to the Games, with three competition venues identified on the concept map: Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort, and Utah Olympic Park. This area is key for transportation, security, and celebration planning.
Mayor Nan Worrell and the Park City Council are in the midst of their annual budget talks and discussed Olympic-related funding on Thursday. The allocation will not be finalized until the budget is adopted in June.
“The organization absolutely needs resources next year, primarily to strengthen Park City's position in the Olympic debate and to support the elected officials who need to be persistently present at the table and in meetings. ” City Manager Matt Diaz told the Mayor and City Council.
He said the city government looks forward to hosting Olympic officials, Games-related delegations and athletes. He said he is also likely to see some travel by elected officials and other members of city government. Details were not disclosed.
“We expect multiple things to happen just in the next year alone, including the announcement in Paris,” he said.
Diaz added that there is currently no budget for this work.
“We're trying to identify a funding source for the mayor and city council, even if they need to host a delegation or travel as part of the Olympic delegation, and that doesn't exist at the moment. “It's something we haven't done in the last two years, the last five years,” he said.
City Councilman Bill Siraco said the budget request was a “sensible number” given Park City's importance to the Olympic effort.
Another City Council member, Ed Parisien, questioned the current dollar amount in the Olympic effort.
“It seems like a lot in 10 years, but you know better,” he said.
In response, Diaz said it was unclear how much funding would be needed next year, saying, “We may not know for sure.” He said the funds would be used only where necessary.
“It's been more than 20 years since we've had to carry out this kind of activity,” Diaz said, referring to the era of the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Park City officials held the discussion Thursday, shortly after an IOC delegation visited Utah to learn about Games plans. Future Host Commission's itinerary also included a stop in the Park City area.
