The Winter Olympics closed in late February, but leaders from Park City and surrounding Summit County are scheduled to relay their experiences in Italy this week.
Park City and Summit County officials attended the Milano Cortina Games on fact-finding missions as they begin the early steps in preparing for the 2034 Winter Olympics in Utah. The Park City Council and the Summit County Council are scheduled to gather at the Marsac Building for a joint meeting on Friday, with a presentation about the Games in Italy planned.
It is not clear what level of detail the officials will address and whether they will also talk about strategies for the work toward 2034. There seems to be interest in cooperation between the two governments on the Games efforts. The 20 minutes that are allocated for the presentation about Italy are likely not enough time for the officials to also engage in a robust discussion about upcoming steps in the area’s own Winter Olympic planning.
Jodi Emery, the acting city manager, and County Manager Shayne Scott are expected to deliver the presentation. Both traveled to Italy as part of an International Olympic Committee-organized observers program.
The Park City and Summit County governments will play key roles in the preparations for the Games. There are three competition venues in the Park City area — Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Utah Olympic Park — and the area will be crucial to the transportation, security and celebration plans.
The discussion on Friday could be similar to one that was held during a 2024 joint meeting between the City Council and the County Council, after officials returned from a fact-finding trip to the Summer Olympics in Paris that year. The travelers were in the French capital for the awarding of the Games of 2034 to Salt Lake City and for observation purposes.
The meeting in 2024 included comments about traffic, transportation and the economic impact of the Games. The presentation at that meeting covered issues like road closures, dedicated road lanes for vehicles that were part of the official Olympic fleet and communications challenges.
The trips to France and Italy will likely be two in a series of Games visits as part of the preparations for 2034. There are two Summer Olympics and one Winter Olympics scheduled before the 2034 Games.
The travelers to Italy were especially interested in the mountain venues that hosted the competitions that are slated for the Park City area during the Games.
The officials from the Park City area, as an example, studied the operations in the Alpine venue community of Cortina d’Ampezzo. There are similarities between Park City and Cortina d’Ampezzo, with both of them being internationally known mountain resorts.
The meeting on Friday is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. at the Marsac Building. The talk about the Winter Olympics is scheduled to start at 10:05 a.m. The Park City and Summit County leaders at the meeting are also scheduled to discuss plans for a senior center in Park City and the future of Recycle Utah.