Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Utah Announces Bid for 2026 Winter Olympics

Utah officials plan to make another bid to hold the Winter Olympics.

Gov. Gary Herbert and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker made the announcement Monday outside the University of Utah stadium, where ceremonies were held for the 2002 Winter Games.

A committee of advisers urged Herbert and Becker to make what could be a longshot bid for the 2026 Winter Games — other U.S. cities could argue it's their turn. Salt Lake faces possible challenges from Denver and the Reno-Tahoe area.

Utah says it can capitalize on the infrastructure left in place from the 2002 Olympics. The Utah games were successful, but Salt Lake was tarnished by scandal.

Utah showered $1 million in cash, gifts and other favors on International Olympic Committee delegates in a scandal that rewrote the rule book for Olympic bids. Herald Journal