Park City basked in the highlight-reel glory of winter sports last weekend, hosting elite athletes and big, energized crowds as the Freestyle World Ski Championships were held at Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort.
The two resorts, both venues during the 2002 Winter Olympics and both regular hosts of high-caliber competitions since the Games, teamed up to throw a party for Parkites and visitors that was enjoyed by the crowds. The spectator numbers at the resorts were large, and off-the-slopes destinations like Main Street were buzzing even in the week after the close of the Sundance Film Festival.
At Deer Valley, the resort hosted the world’s best aerialists, mogul skiers and skiercross competitors. PCMR was the site of the best slopestyle skiers and halfpipe skiers. The high-energy events were captivating and likely introduced some of the spectators to the next-generation disciplines as many young people gravitate toward those sorts of events rather than traditional ski racing.
A spokesperson for Deer Valley said the resort is pleased with the events held there over the weekend, saying the fans were energized.
“The energy up here was fantastic for all of the events we hosted,” said Erin Grady, a Deer Valley spokesperson.
According to Grady, approximately 8,000 people attended the events at Deer Valley on Friday night and on Saturday night. More than 300 volunteers assisted with the Deer Valley events, Grady said.
The events at Deer Valley were staged eight years after the resort hosted the freestyle championships in the winter after the Olympics. Grady said Deer Valley is the first North American resort to host the championships twice.
She said Deer Valley has become “almost a Mecca of freestyle skiing.” The resort plans to host World Cup competitions next year and would consider competing for the rights to host another world championships in the future.
“I think the whole town as a whole came together,” Grady said.
At PCMR, spokesperson Krista Parry said the resort was honored to host the first-ever championships in the slopestyle discipline. She said the crowd numbered more than 1,000 between the events held at PCMR. Frigid temperatures might have kept PCMR from drawing larger crowds.
“It was just phenomenal,” Parry said, adding, “It really brought the community out.”
Parry said PCMR wants to discuss hosting additional events in the discipline, with the resort wanting to engage Deer Valley and the United States Ski and Snowboard Association in the talks.
PCMR has made what is regarded as a successful shift from an emphasis on World Cup-level ski racing in the years before the Winter Olympics to one that is focused on snowboarding events and, with the weekend’s festivities, freestyle skiing in the halfpipe and the slopestyle discipline.
The championships received lots of publicity locally, and there was television coverage nationally. Tourism boosters continually attempt to promote Park City to a national audience, taking out advertisements in publications and on television. The exposure gleaned from the championships likely provided a boost in those efforts as the busy Presidents Day-spring break skiing period approaches.