Deer Valley Resort was a key venue during the 2002 Winter Olympics, when freestyle skiing and ski racing competitions were held just outside Snow Park Lodge.
And the resort is again seen as playing an important role should Salt Lake City host a second Games, having already been identified as a competition venue.
By the time an Olympics may be held in Salt Lake City and the wider region, perhaps in 2030 or 2034, Deer Valley is expected to have undergone a massive expansion into a large tract of terrain on the resort’s eastern flank. Commonly known as the Mayflower land, the expansion is designed to add 3,700 acres to Deer Valley, bringing the total acreage at the resort to 5,726. The first lifts and trails are expected to open as early as the 2025-26 ski season, but it is difficult to predict when the expansion would be complete.
It seems almost certain the organizers of an Olympics would, at the least, want to discuss with Deer Valley any opportunities the Mayflower terrain, as well as the planned base area off U.S. 40, could present as they consider the blueprints for a Games.
“Deer Valley is proud of our history with the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Winter Games and many other elite, international events. We recently announced a major terrain expansion as part of Expanded Excellence, more than doubling our skiable acreage with a variety of beginner, intermediate, and expert terrain. We’re currently exploring opportunities with the Salt Lake Olympic bid organizers for future Olympic Game competition venues but cannot comment directly on any specifics at this time,” Deer Valley said in a prepared statement requested by The Park Record.
A concept map for a future Olympics, now five years old, located Alpine skiing and freestyle skiing at Deer Valley, the same categories of events held there during the 2002 Winter Olympics. The concept map may be modified over time, and it is difficult to predict what competitions could be staged on the Mayflower terrain without the availability of more details about the eventual ski runs there and the Olympic program itself.
A spokesman for the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games — the group that is leading the efforts to host an Olympics — said there have been no formal discussions between the committee and Deer Valley about adding the Mayflower terrain to the lineup of competition venues.
“Until last week, the operation of that property wasn’t known,” Tom Kelly said about the late-August announcement about the Deer Valley expansion into the Mayflower terrain.
He said the committee currently does not have a plan for the Mayflower land under the concept for a Games. It is not clear, though, what sort of modifications would be necessary to the venue map if an Olympics is awarded. Kelly, as an example, said it is unclear whether events will be added to the Olympic program by the time the region may host a Games. If so, it is not known whether the new events could be staged at the venues already identified in the concept map or whether additional locations would be needed.
It is probable that any Olympic organizers would also eye the base area planned at Mayflower. The location just off U.S. 40 would be strategic for a Games since it lies between the proposed venues in the Park City area — Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and the Utah Olympic Park — and Soldier Hollow in Wasatch County, which is another identified venue on the concept map. There could be opportunities for the location to be part of the crucial operational plans of an Olympics, perhaps through the use of any transportation or parking infrastructure that is built as Mayflower is developed.
“We’re always looking at what the landscape is across all our venues,” Kelly said.
It is not clear when the International Olympic Committee will select the host cities of the Games of 2030 or 2034. Salt Lake City is seen as a strong candidate for one of those years, with venues from the Games of 2002 still in use, a winter-sports culture and expanded infrastructure in the 21 years since the Games were held in the state.