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SALT LAKE CITY — A state lawmaker wants the world to know Utah is "ready, willing and able" to host the Winter Olympics again.
Senate Majority Whip Stuart Adams, R-Layton, introduced a resolution Wednesday that encourages state leaders to keep Utah well-positioned globally in sports and the Olympic movement should the chance to bid on the Games arise.
"We're poised and ready. We could host them again, and I think a lot of the state wants to see them come here again," Adams said. "It's part of our fabric here."
The 2002 Salt Lake Winter Games were one of the few Olympics to make money, and Utah has an endowment fund to maintain the venues it built for the event.
Utah has since hosted hundreds of major Olympic and non-Olympic competitions since the 2002 Games that have enhanced the state's economy, image and position in sports, according to the resolution.
The nonbinding resolution says "Utah will stand 'ready, willing and able' to welcome the world back."
Adams said he also thinks that "we really didn't get our fair shot" in 2002 because of 9/11. The attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., happened about five months before the opening ceremony.
"A lot of people didn't come. They just didn't want to come here. They were scared of having an international event where there might be some type of a problem," he said.
Toying with another bid
Utah has toyed with the idea of bidding for the Winter Games again a couple of times over the years. A state exploratory committee considered throwing Salt Lake City in the ring for 2022 and 2026.
Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, said the state could host another Olympics with minimal investment and some upgrading to its venues. Utah spent some money upfront in 2002, but it was all paid back, Niederhauser said.
"I don't see any reason why that wouldn't happen again. In fact, I think it would be a huge opportunity for our state," he said.
Utah, Niederhauser said, just needs another opportunity.
"We're prepared," he said. "We've shown the world that we can do this."
And as Senate Assistant Minority Whip Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City, added, "We have the greatest snow on earth."
