The Park City area is preparing to host a slate of competitions during the 2034 Winter Olympics at Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park.
Bill Ciraco, a first-term city councilor who traveled to the Winter Olympics in Italy for fact-finding purposes and attended curling competitions, sees the possibility of also hosting this sport in Park City in the Games of 2034.
He cited a 2023 statement from the 2034 organizers about the possibility of alterations to the Winter Olympic map. The Games organizers have placed curling at the Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City and said on Thursday that remains the plan.
The curling competitions during the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Ogden. Relocating a sport from one venue to another, as suggested by Ciraco, would be a significant alteration to the Games map for 2034.
Placing curling here would require significant expansion of the ice facilities in the Park City area. Ciraco said he plans to discuss the concept with the other elected officials on an individual basis.
A public process would occur if the elected officials wanted to press ahead with developing ice facilities, while the Games organizing committee would need to be approached as well regarding the location of a curling venue.
“Curling really feels like a sport for the people, accessible, relatable and intellectual at the same time. Someone described it as billiards on ice. I think that is only half the description, it is like billiards and chess on ice, and the fans are enthusiastic,” Ciraco said.
The city councilor described the popularity of the Park City Ice Arena and the potential of investment in the ice sports. The Quinn’s Junction arena was developed in 2006, amid momentum for winter sports in the years after the Games of 2002. The facility remains popular and there is only limited ice time for the various groups that use the building. There has been talk for years about developing additional ice capacity in the Park City area, but a project has not advanced.
“Here is how I think this could work. If, IF the curling home is being moved out of Ogden, we have an opportunity to host a much more authentic curling venue in the Park City area. How, you might ask? Our ice arena is approaching 25 years old, we are beginning to face large capital expenditures to maintain the facility,” he said. “There is also some talk in the community that the demand for ice has grown dramatically and we will soon outstrip the supply of ice time. Makes sense, right? We are a winter sports community.”
Ciraco described the potential use in 2034 and afterward.
“If our future plans included a new ice center that had two sheets, we would be remiss not to set one up with permanent seating on three sides, and leaving a large enough space in the middle to have some permanent seating that could have additional temporary levels added for the Games,” he said. “These added levels would be constructed from scaffolding (like many of the seats in Cortina) and would stand where the second ice sheet will be. We could have 3,000 permanent seats and the ability to add 2,000 more temporary seats. Post the Games, we could run curling and hockey on the second sheet and use the main sheet as we currently do.”
The ice availability “would also be a great place to host junior hockey tournaments, potentially host additional curling events and would also be a more attractive training camp retreat facility for the Utah Mammoth,” he said.
“If we consider in the future building a new ice facility, I believe it would be wise for us to consider this and perhaps seek a partner or two. I believe we could make this happen, perhaps in the current location or nearby. This would give us a triangle of event sites with UOP, Park City/Deer Valley and Quinn’s Junction,” Ciraco said.
Park City leaders are expected to begin addressing the efforts toward 2034 more broadly in coming months, but a timeline for the work and the specific tasks are not clear. There is an official Park City delegation in Italy. Ciraco is not part of that delegation and traveled to Italy as an individual at his own expense.
A discussion regarding ice facilities and the Games, as described by Ciraco, would need to delve into locations, funding strategies, designs and the level of public interest in a project. The planning, permitting process and construction would likely take at least several years.
The Park City area is critical to the Games effort, with the three competition venues at the core. The area will also need significant transportation, security and celebration planning. Adding a fourth competition venue in the area for curling would impact the overall logistical blueprints.