The leadership of the Park City Chamber/Bureau has mentioned the 2034 Winter Olympics as part of the reasoning behind the tourism organization’s support of a package of proposed lift upgrades at Park City Mountain.
The Games were noted in two identical correspondences addressed to the Park City Planning Commission in early May, as the panel was preparing to discuss the proposed upgrades. One was signed by Jennifer Wesselhoff, the president and CEO of the Chamber/Bureau, and Wesselhoff and Aldy Milliken, the chair of the board of directors, co-signed the other.
The one-page correspondences cover issues that have been key to the talks about the package of proposed upgrades — to the Silverlode Express and Eagle lifts — but the Games’ appearance in the input is also notable at a time when the community is in the early stages of planning for the Winter Olympics.
“Choosing not to reinvest carries real risk: declining guest satisfaction and reduced competitiveness. With the 2034 Olympic Winter Games on the horizon, continued investment in our resort infrastructure has never mattered more,” the correspondence says.
Park City Mountain is slated to be a competition venue in 2034. Snowboarding halfpipe, snowboarding slopestyle, freestyle skiing halfpipe and freestyle skiing slopestyle events are scheduled there.
“The core of my thinking is really about the importance of continual reinvestment in our community’s infrastructure — not just for any single event, but as a long-term commitment to quality of life and economic resilience. Park City has thrived because private and public partners have consistently chosen to reinvest rather than stand still, and these lift upgrades are a continuation of that tradition,” Wesselhoff said in a statement in response to a Park Record inquiry about the correspondences.
The correspondences do not provide details about the relationship the Chamber/Bureau sees between the plans for the lift upgrades and the Games. Some think that upgrades to the infrastructure at the resort during the pre-Games period would be beneficial in 2034, even if they are not linked directly to the Winter Olympic effort. Upgrades would be of consequence as the actual Games venue is designed, as well as the plans for access to the slopes for skiers and snowboarders not attending the competitions. The vast majority of the terrain at Park City Mountain is expected to remain open for recreational skiing during the Games.
The Winter Olympic possibilities of lift upgrades at Park City Mountain have been an intriguing sidebar to the core issues under discussion by the Planning Commission. Park City Mountain has been pursuing the upgrades for longer than four years, becoming embroiled in controversy centered on procedural matters. Park City Mountain is currently seeking approval from the Planning Commission, a process that is seen as more robust than the staff-level route that was previously unsuccessful.
The Games were also broached during the earlier, unsuccessful process. A figure in the Winter Olympic efforts submitted a correspondence in support of the lift upgrades in the spring of 2022, more than two years before the Winter Olympics were awarded. Colin Hilton, the president and CEO of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, addressed the Eagle lift in the correspondence, saying a realignment “would improve the capabilities of Park City Mountain to host a venue for a future Olympic Winter Games.”
He said in a prepared statement at the time that a “realigned Eagle lift allows more room to place events such as the halfpipe and slopestyle courses in an already tightly packed finish area. A future Games has a need for added sport event disciplines and realigned courses, for which is made easier by the modified location of the Eagle lift. Slopestyle & Big Air events didn’t exist in 2002, and options to use PCMR in the future will require the venue to accommodate many of these new disciplines. The chairlift realignment begins a process that opens up better capabilities to lay out these courses.”
The Planning Commission is expected to continue the talks about the lift upgrades at a meeting on May 27. A vote is possible at that meeting.
Park City Mountain wants to replace the existing Eagle and Eaglet lifts with a six-passenger lift and install an eight-passenger lift to replace the current six-passenger Silverlode Express lift.
Some of the other passages from the correspondences regarding the potential lift upgrades submitted by the Chamber/Bureau officials include:
- “Park City is a resort town. That’s not just how we describe ourselves — it’s the foundation of our economy, our community, and our quality of life. When the resort thrives, so do the businesses, nonprofits, employees, and residents who depend on it. Supporting smart investment in resort infrastructure isn’t just good for visitors. It’s good for all of us who live and work here.”
- “These are not expansion projects. They are long-overdue modernizations. The Eagle lift are more than 30 years old. Replacing them with a single modern chairlift will ease congestion in one of the mountain’s busiest zones. Upgrading Silverlode Express will shorten wait times on a key route connecting skiers and riders to terrain, dining, and amenities. The result is a better experience — shorter lines and smoother flow — for guests and locals alike.”
- “These upgrades come at no cost to taxpayers. This is private investment working within established public frameworks.”