In the nearly two decades since the Winter Olympics were hosted in Salt Lake City, the impact of the games has not faded away, and an opportunity to bring the games back to Utah is in the mix.

The nineteenth Winter Olympic Games opened February 8 and ended on the 24. They were widely considered to be an extremely successful Winter Olympics. According to the International Olympic Committee, the organization that supervises and regulates the Olympics, Salt Lake’s marketing was “was the most successful in the history of the Olympic Winter Games”. Coverage of the games was extremely wide, with millions of viewers in dozens of countries watching the competitions.  The usage of the Olympic facilities, along with the massive media coverage and heavy sponsorship by donors made it possible for the city to end with games with money left over, which aided in keeping the facilities up and running.

The facilities built for the Olympics are still in use today. The Olympic Oval is open to the public for skating, hockey, and other competitions, as well as being the home for the US Olympic Speedskating team. Other facilities, including those in Park City, are used as training sites, not only for American athletes but for competitors from around the world.

Having the Olympic facilities so readily available has opened up the possibility for another Salt Lake City bid to host the games. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, in early October 2017 “a group of business, community and elected state leaders announced the formation of an official Olympic/Paralympic Exploratory Committee (OEC)”. The plan is to bid on either the 2026 or 2030 Olympics. According to a member of the committee, it would be easier to host after the Los Angeles games in 2028 because of media coverage and advertisement agreements, but they are “ready, willing, and able”, as their motto suggests, to compete for a chance to bring the Olympics back to Utah soon, either in 2026 or 2030.