PROVO, Utah — The Peaks Ice Arena needs to shrink its hockey rink.
At the 2034 Winter Olympics, the arena will host athletes swinging sticks and sliding pucks. By then, the Olympics are expected to use National Hockey League-sized rinks. They are smaller than the international rink constructed in the arena from the 2002 Games.
Peaks also needs bleachers for 10,000 fans screaming in their native languages. And Provo’s municipal government, which operates the arena, wants to upgrade the locker rooms.
“So, the total funding (needed) for this facility is $12 million,” said Scott Henderson, the chief administrative officer for Provo.
Provo is asking that $3 million come from a fund created by the state of Utah to renovate Olympic venues. The Maverik Center, operated by West Valley City and another Olympic hockey venue, is requesting $500,000 from the fund for new lighting and a design study.
And the Weber County Sports Complex is asking for $3.8 million in upgrades. Unlike 2002, the complex is not scheduled to be a venue for the next Utah Olympics, but it wants to host curling world championships next year. A 2023 report to the Utah Legislature showed state lawmakers have already appropriated $94 million to maintain Olympic venues remaining from the 2002 Winter Olympics. A spending bill moving through the current legislative session would add another $40 million to that fund.
There’s a separate line item to give $3 million for improvements at the Olympic Park in Park City.
“I think the appropriateness comes down to whether the upkeep comes from state and local funds – taxpayer dollars – when the bid committee repeatedly told us that they would not be relying on taxpayer dollars,” said Chase Thomas, senior policy analyst at Alliance For a Better Utah.
The Alliance is not opposed to another Salt Lake City Olympics or spending on them, but wants transparency in the spending, especially since organizers said the Games would be paid for with private money.
But that operating budget only covers the cost of the skiing, skating, sliding and other sports and ceremonies themselves. Infrastructure improvements, security and other related costs still need to be paid for.
The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation, which was created after the 2002 Games, has tens of millions of dollars in cash and investments, according to its most recent tax filing.
“Why is that not being used in this case?” Thomas asked aloud in an interview with FOX 13 News.
The foundation’s website says it maintains the venues in Park City, Kearns and Soldier Hollow. Municipally-operated venues, like Peaks, are being left to taxpayers.
Peaks sits on Provo’s east side, underneath the Wasatch Mountains. There’s already 2034 Olympics signage hanging inside and out.
Henderson points out that the renovation costs for the Utah venues are still cheaper than building new facilities the way other cities and countries have done before an Olympics. And Utah continues to use its venues for other events.
The afternoon Henderson spoke with FOX 13 News, a group of girls were skating on the rink that will be remodeled. They were practicing for an upcoming performance that includes a routine set to “So Long, Farewell” from “The Sound of Music.”
“This facility,” Henderson said, “has been probably one of the great examples of transition from an Olympic venue to day-to-day use maybe even in the world.”
