There are many positives and very few negatives to a possible Winter Olympic bid for the 2026 games.At least that’s according to speed skating gold medalist Derek Parra, the sports director at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns.
“With our existing venues, we’re billions of dollars ahead of any other organization that would want to bid for a games," he says.
Parra is also on the just-announced Salt Lake exploratory committee for another bid. He says a 2012 poll of Utahns showed 73 percent want to host the games here again.
“You know our mass transportation is better than it was back then," he says. "I mean the city has developed so much and grown so much since then, so I think that’s all pluses for us.”
Parra says the group will look hard at costs and other possible challenges, but says he’s very excited about the possibilities.
The committee plans to have a decision by February of next year.
Coming events at the Utah Olympic Oval: