The cost of bringing the 2034 Winter Olympics back to Salt Lake City, Utah, is projected to total just under $4 billion, including $2.8 billion in operational costs, organizers of the effort said on June 10.
The good news for taxpayers is that the whole event would be privately funded. With the help of a targeted $1.8 billion in domestic sponsorships, ticketing, and hospitality revenues, the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games expects to break even.
Although the event has grown 40 percent since Salt Lake City first hosted the Games in 2002, the city’s existing infrastructure is estimated to lower operational costs by 1 percent this time around, when adjusted for inflation.
“One of the statements that Fraser makes often is that Olympic budgeting is, in fact, an unofficial Olympic sport,” said bid chief operating officer Brett Hopkins, who explained the budget on a press call along with bid CEO Fraser Bullock. “There is just a tremendous amount that goes in behind the scenes.”
The towering cost of hosting the Games has become a turnoff for many cities lacking the required infrastructure and facilities. But in Salt Lake City, the legacy of the 2002 Winter Olympics—and enthusiasm for their return—lives on.
In April, the city’s Olympic committee proposed 13 existing venues that could be used to house the events, including former Olympic facilities, local resorts, and the use of University of Utah for the Olympic Village.
“It is remarkable to see how every venue is still robust and in active use,” Colin Hilton, president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, said at the time.
“But, most of all, what we’ve seen is great passion on the part of our venues and their surrounding communities to be a part of the Games.”
That fact was one of the top reasons the International Olympic Committee (IOC) named Salt Lake City as its sole preferred host for the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games last November.
As the only city in the running to host the Games, Salt Lake City is expected to get the official nod from the IOC’s Future Host Commission on July 24, ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The Salt Lake City committee initially eyed 2030 as the city’s next chapter in Olympic history. But with the United States already set to host the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, the target shifted to the later 2034 bid.
The committee’s budget also includes a $260 million legacy contribution to benefit local community sports programs. Those funds are part of the non-operational costs and could diminish after further budgetary review.
“This budget we’ve gone through, we’re probably on iteration ‘over a hundred,’” Mr. Bullock said. “That’s just the dynamics of budgets for games. As you learn more and you get more information, they constantly evolve.”
