Bid or Bust? Competition ramps up for 2030 Winter Olympics Bid

The competition to be the host city of the 2030 Winter Olympics — and beyond — just ramped up. No surprise for an event that showcases the competition between the world’s best athletes.

It’s been noted for quite some time that Denver leaders are making the pitch to the USOC (see Denver Olympic Exploratory Committee Report here); Salt Lake City, though, is making a strong run at claiming the bid.

KRDO Newschannel 13 confirmed a Salt Lake City delegation attended the Olympic and Paralympic Assembly in Colorado Springs last month. Salt Lake City Mayor, Jackie Biskupski has been a vocal proponent, touting her meetings with USOC top brass. And just today, an article from the Salt Lake Tribune quoted Biskupski regarding the Winter Olympics: “It’s really ours to lose.”

Those are confident words.

Joining the SLC and Denver hopefuls? The Reno-Lake Tahoe area.

Two-time Olympian, Jeff Olson, who lives in Denver, is hoping his efforts will help bolster the Mile High bid.

“We don’t have to build a lot of stuff,” said Olson. “The world knows Colorado.The world knows the Rocky Mountains. The world knows Denver. In the pantry shelf of their brain, they recognize it as a winter playground.”

Olson runs the grass-roots effort, “2030 Legacy Now” which seeks to seam together a community’s needs and necessary infrastructure for the Olympics.

“The Olympics can be a catalyst to bring communities together to say, ‘Hey, what about affordable housing, or trying to hit a higher bar with sustainable energy requirements in the state, what about curbing disease?'” said Olson.

Events will undoubtedly be held in neighboring areas surrounding the host city — which could put Colorado Springs venues on the radar.

Calls to the Denver Mayor regarding the Olympic bid were unreturned Wednesday.

A USOC spokesman tells KRDO that an announcement on the 2030 Winter Olympics host city will be made “sometime in the future.”