10 Years After The Games, Utah Still Enjoys Bump From Olympics
It has been 10 years since Utah hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. Since then, our ski resorts have enjoyed banner years - and they continue to grow more popular ever season.
The Deseret News carried this article describing how the games helped put Utah on the ski map, and how the resorts have continued to improve and expand since them. Below are excerpts.
Before the buildup for the Olympics 10 years ago, Snowbasin in Utah was little more than a mom-and-pop operation, with aging lifts and amenities and offices in a single-wide trailer.
Now even its bathrooms are turning heads, with the Italian marble day lodge restrooms recently voted top five in the U.S.
The state's 14 resorts have undergone roughly a billion dollars in improvements, from high-speed lifts and bubble chairs to the construction of high-end global hotels such as the Montage Deer Valley and Waldorf Astoria Park City.
Overall skier visits have increased 42 percent to 4.2 million, skiable acres are up 26 percent, and a trend of late has been multi-generational vacations — grandparents on the slopes with their children and grandchildren.
He (Bill Malone) said the Olympics also provided a giant "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," reflected in places such as Deer Valley being voted North America's No. 1 overall ski area for the fifth straight year by Ski Magazine readers. Before the Olympics, Park City had one five-star resort; now it has five.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is based in Park City and Olympic hopefuls now train at the 85,000-square-foot Center of Excellence, which opened in 2009 and offers programs in everything from cardio to sports physiology and nutrition.
Since the closing ceremonies ended, there have been dozens of international competitions in Utah. World Cup events have been held in bobsledding, skeleton, luge and speedskating and world championships in freestyle skiing. The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix is set for Canyons Resort again in February, and the 2012 Freestyle World Cup is headed to Deer Valley.
Read the entire article.
The Deseret News carried this article describing how the games helped put Utah on the ski map, and how the resorts have continued to improve and expand since them. Below are excerpts.
Before the buildup for the Olympics 10 years ago, Snowbasin in Utah was little more than a mom-and-pop operation, with aging lifts and amenities and offices in a single-wide trailer.
Now even its bathrooms are turning heads, with the Italian marble day lodge restrooms recently voted top five in the U.S.
The state's 14 resorts have undergone roughly a billion dollars in improvements, from high-speed lifts and bubble chairs to the construction of high-end global hotels such as the Montage Deer Valley and Waldorf Astoria Park City.
Overall skier visits have increased 42 percent to 4.2 million, skiable acres are up 26 percent, and a trend of late has been multi-generational vacations — grandparents on the slopes with their children and grandchildren.
He (Bill Malone) said the Olympics also provided a giant "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," reflected in places such as Deer Valley being voted North America's No. 1 overall ski area for the fifth straight year by Ski Magazine readers. Before the Olympics, Park City had one five-star resort; now it has five.
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association is based in Park City and Olympic hopefuls now train at the 85,000-square-foot Center of Excellence, which opened in 2009 and offers programs in everything from cardio to sports physiology and nutrition.
Since the closing ceremonies ended, there have been dozens of international competitions in Utah. World Cup events have been held in bobsledding, skeleton, luge and speedskating and world championships in freestyle skiing. The U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix is set for Canyons Resort again in February, and the 2012 Freestyle World Cup is headed to Deer Valley.
Read the entire article.
posted by Utah Blog Admin @ 10:50 PM
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