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| 2002 Winter Olympics |
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The 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held in and around Salt Lake City, United States from February 8 to 24, 2002, and the Paralympics from March 7 to 16, 2002. The sporting events were held in ten competitive venues, while non-competitive events, such as the opening ceremony, were held in six other venues. Three venues were also created for training purposes. All Olympic venues were scattered throughout Northern Utah and the Wasatch Front.
In November 1989, Utah's voters passed the Olympic referendum, which allowed construction to begin on a few of the future Olympic venues with the 1998 Winter Olympics on the mind. The construction was to proceed using public funds which would be repaid with profits following the games.[1] As part of the referendum, the state created the Utah Sports Authority, who would work closely with the Salt Lake Olympic Bid Committee and other Olympic organizers to ensure the venues complied with Olympic standards. Two years later, Salt Lake City lost its bid to host the 1998 Winter Olympics, but the plans continued. By the time Salt Lake City bid again, the venues had been completed in 1995. On June 16, 1995, the International Olympic Committee awarded Salt Lake City the XIX Winter Olympics, with the newly completed venues cited as one of the key factors in the successful bid.[2]
The Utah Sports Authority constructed two of the Olympic venues: the Utah Olympic Park and Utah Olympic Oval. Prior to the games, the authority turned over ownership of the venues to the Salt Lake 2002 Organizing Committee (SLOC), who turned the ownership of the venues over to the Utah Athletic Foundation after the games.
- ^ Robert Rice (August 27, 1989). "Majority still back hosting Olympics". Deseret News. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ Brooke Adams (June 22, 1995). "2002: Utah's Olympic Venues". Deseret News. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2010.