The University of Utah would "enthusiastically" support another Salt Lake City Olympics — especially if it helped the U. acquire the rest of Fort Douglas.
That was one of the key points in a 24-page report presented last week to U. President David Pershing by a 12-member working group of school officials. The report was prepared in response to inquiries from the state’s Olympic Exploratory Committee about the U.’s interest in being a venue if another bid is launched.
During the 2002 Winter Games, the U. was the site of Opening and Closing ceremonies, the Athletes Village and a polyclinic.
To house the 3,500 athletes and team officials who stayed in the Athletes Village a decade ago, the U. built a $120 million complex of residence halls on 12 acres of Fort Douglas land acquired from the Army in 1998 with congressional assistance. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee kicked in almost $28 million to the cost of the project.
Anticipating a future Winter Olympics will require a bigger village, the report, overseen by Arnold Combe, the U.’s vice president of administrative services, said "it would be critical that the Army Reserve at Fort Douglas be declared surplus by the Army well in advance of the Games so the university could obtain the added real estate and develop facilities needed to support the expanded requirements." Salt Lake Tribune
