As the end of the year arrives, Park City is a changed community. But in some cases the changes that began in 2023 will not be truly realized for years, and in one important case not for another decade.
Park City this year appears to have almost fully emerged from the grip of the pandemic and, as a result, issues that are more familiar to the community, such as growth, returned to the forefront.
There also was major movement in the resort industry, a municipal election and a significant step toward hosting a second Winter Olympics.
The Top 5 news stories in 2023 in Park City:
5. Voters say “Yes” and “No“
Park City voters in 2023 said “Yes” to three candidates for the Park City Council. But they said “No” to a ballot measure designed to raise monies for recreation upgrades.
The City Hall election involved three City Council seats — a majority of the five-person panel — but never seemed to take hold with voters without the mayor’s office on the ballot and no singular issue looming over the campaign. And the election calendar was pushed back to accommodate a special contest in one of the state’s congressional districts. Still, the turnout came in at 45%, solid for off-year elections.
Six candidates cleared the primary election and competed in a subdued fall campaign. They debated issues that have been standard fare for City Hall elections for decades — topics like growth, traffic and the economy. The candidates in many cases agreed with the overarching issues but differed on some of the detailed steps to address them.
The field was intriguing with the candidates generally having limited City Hall experience. Two incumbents — Becca Gerber and Max Doilney — did not seek reelection while the other incumbent whose seat was on the ballot, Ryan Dickey, was seeking a full first term after a midterm appointment.
The voters gave Dickey a full term and opted for Ed Parigian and Bill Ciraco for the other two seats. They will take the oaths of office in early January.
The campaign centered on the $30 million recreation ballot measure pitted the supporters of the upgrades, such as pickleball improvements and an ice sheet, against those worried about the increase in property taxes and the affordability of Park City, along with reluctance to fund the improvements that residents outside the city limits would not pay for. The arguments from the nay side proved more compelling as voters rejected the ballot measure.
4. Welcome to winter
A snowy winter in the mountains typically would not be noteworthy.
But the 2022-23 winter, mostly on the 2023 side of the calendar, was extraordinary even by Wasatch Range standards. The snow just seemed to never stop as longtime Parkites started to compare the season to those of decades ago. The winter, though, was even snowier than the ones they fondly remembered.
Skiers and snowboarders cheered as they enjoyed powder day after powder day at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort. There was general feeling of exhilaration in the community after the difficulties of the pandemic and amid continuing worries about the corporatization of the ski industry.
As the snow continued, the local mountain resorts boasted eye-popping season totals. Both Park City Mountain and Deer Valley topped 600 inches of snow during the winter, numbers so high for the Park City area that they were difficult to comprehend. The two mountain resorts extended their ski seasons, providing a bonus to season-pass holders who were still in the area through the exceptional spring conditions.
“The historic snowfall has officially made this season our snowiest on record with over a month of skiing left. These incredible conditions also created our longest season by being able to extend ski operations beyond both our planned opening and closing days,” Deer Valley President and Chief Operating Officer Todd Bennett said in a prepared statement in the middle of March.
The snow, though, made for difficult driving conditions as the Park City Police Department received numerous reports of traffic accidents blamed on the weather through the winter. It also was blamed for causing severe damage to a mining-era structure at Park City Mountain. A preservation group called the Friends of Ski Mountain Mining History indicated the heavy snow of the winter and spring caused the damage to the Thaynes hoist house. The damage was seen in early April.
3. The status of Snow Park
Park City leaders decades ago were presented with an ambitious plan to create a mountain resort on the other side of the community from what is now known as Park City Mountain.
It would be called Deer Valley Resort, and the Park City government in the 1970s granted a sweeping approval to create the resort. The approval encompassed large tracts of land for the ski terrain as well as certain locations for significant development.
One of the spots that was slotted for development at the time is the land where the vast parking lots outside Snow Park Lodge are located. Deer Valley, though, must secure another approval from City Hall to pursue a project there.
The discussions between the municipal government and Deer Valley about a development that would reimagine the Snow Park base area launched prior to the start of 2023, and picked up steam over the past year.
Many who live or own properties in the area of the Snow Park base have expressed concern about the development concept, citing issues like traffic. The sides seemed to be at a stalemate when after closed-door talks, City Hall and Deer Valley announced an agreement that involved a public-private partnership.
The agreement called for City Hall to remove sections of road on the perimeter of Snow Park from the map of public streets as part of the overall traffic and circulation plan for a development. The sides also negotiated a letter of intent outlining a partnership addressing transportation and housing. City Hall and Deer Valley will each contribute $15 million as part of the partnership.
The mid-December votes were, combined, a landmark for the municipal government given the high-profile location and the monies involved. It was also crucial for Deer Valley since it allows the resort to eventually restart talks with the Park City Planning Commission about a project. Those discussions are expected to unfold in 2024.
2. The countdown to 2034
Ever since the 2002 Winter Olympics closed, it has seemed likely the Games would eventually return to the state.
After years of work toward a second Games, Salt Lake City and the broader region ended 2023 as the preferred host for the Winter Olympics in 2034. The Park City area is crucial to the efforts to host another Games, with Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park identified as important competition venues on the concept map. The area will also be imperative to the transportation, security and celebration planning.
The late-November announcement by the International Olympic Committee identifying Salt Lake City as the preferred host was celebrated across the region. Although the IOC did not award the Games to Salt Lake City at that time, that step is widely anticipated to occur in July, just before the start of the Summer Olympics in Paris.
The IOC’s designation of Salt Lake City as the preferred host ended years of speculation over which edition of the Winter Olympics worked best for the state. Over time, it seemed, the Games in 2026, 2030 or 2034 could have been possible for Salt Lake City.
“For more than a decade, our state and community leaders have united towards this goal. The IOC has recognized our high level of preparedness, with all venues in place and active, as well as overwhelming support from our political and business leaders as well as the public,” Fraser Bullock, the president and CEO of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, said in a prepared statement after the announcement.
Park City and surrounding Summit County had been laying some of the early groundwork for a Games even before the IOC announcement, holding broad-based discussions about the possibilities and gathering a substantial amount of input from the public. The work is expected to intensify once the Games have been officially awarded to the state.
1. ‘Your new Deer Valley‘
As Deer Valley Resort expanded over the decades, including the Empire Canyon and Deer Crest terrain, there was always a question about a large tract of land on the resort’s eastern flank.
Known as Mayflower, the land had at various times been the subject of intense speculation about some sort of arrangement with Deer Valley. And at other times it had been seen as the future location of a standalone mountain resort in close proximity to Deer Valley.
In August, though, the long-term future of Mayflower was set. It would be folded into Deer Valley as a massive expansion of the resort. The raw numbers illustrate the magnitude of the agreement between Deer Valley owner Alterra Mountain Company and Extell Development Company, the Mayflower developer.
The Mayflower expansion will boost Deer Valley’s terrain by 3,700 acres, bringing the total acreage at the resort to 5,726. The number of runs at Deer Valley will increase from 103 today to 238. The number of lifts will jump from 21 to 37.
The first lifts and trails are expected to open as early as the 2025-26 ski season.
“This is your new Deer Valley,” Todd Bennett, the president and chief operating officer of Deer Valley, said during an event outlining the agreement.
The Mayflower base will be located off U.S. 40. It is envisioned as another Deer Valley village that could reduce the pressure on the Snow Park base inside Park City. Work is continuing, with lodging, skier services, retailers and dining planned at Mayflower.
Mayflower benefited with the involvement of the Military Installation Development Authority, a state economic development entity that is designed to advance projects with a military component. There will be a hotel developed in Mayflower for the benefit of members of the military.