Post by mtnme on Feb 14, 2008 2:41:31 GMT -5
Well isn't this interesting. It looks like the Reno/Tahoe area is serious about being a Winter Olympic Venue in the next decade. There are a bunch of other articles on this, but you get the gest....___________________________________________________
Tourism and Gaming
Nevada already gearing up for 2018 Olympic bid
By Richard Velotta / Staff Writer
The year 2018 seems like a long time away, but it's not too far off for Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who spent a portion of his time at last week's Governor's Conference on Tourism wearing the hat of the director of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coaliton.
The organization is spearheading Northern Nevada's bid to play host to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Although Reno and Lake Tahoe would be the focus of the event, there certainly would be some tourism opportunities for Southern Nevada if the bid is successful.
Although the 2018 games are a decade away, any location that takes on a host role has plenty of work to do to prepare one of sport's great spectacles and that's why Krolicki already has begun talking up prospects.
Krolicki talked about the Olympics whenever he had the opportunity at the conference.
"I think there are many people who don't realize that there are benefits beyond that three-week spectacle of competition," he said. "We're talking about the opportunity to develop infrastructure that would benefit our state and building world-class winter sports facilities that would be used for decades beyond."
In his most recent trip to China, Krolicki got a chance to see some of 2008 Summer Olympics venues under construction, and he has cultivated friendships with Chinese organizers that could pay off when it's decision-making time.
Krolicki said Northern Nevadans already have begun talking about potential venue sites. The ski resorts that ring Lake Tahoe have varying advantages that will be weighed to determine the best place for slalom and ski jump events.
Locations around the Reno area will be scouted for potential ice rink locations to host various skating events including speed skating, performance events and hockey.
Mackey Stadium, home of the UNR Wolf Pack football team, would be the likely venue for opening and closing events.
A number of important partners have signed on to help prepare a bid for the games.
Several resort companies that have Lake Tahoe properties have signed on, and Krolicki said Squaw Valley — the California community that hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960 — recently came on board to assist in the effort.
The three easternmost California counties, Placer, Eldorado and Nevada, have agreed to help the Reno-Lake Tahoe bid.
The procedure for selecting a host city for the Olympics is daunting. First, a potential bidder must convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that it is the best choice for the games.
Krolicki said in all likelihood, Reno-Tahoe would be competing against bids from Denver (which spurned hosting the games in 1976)and Lake Placid, N.Y., host in 1980 and home of the famed "Miracle on Ice" hockey game in which the United States defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team.
It's also possible that Salt Lake City, which played host to the 2002 Winter Games, could enter the fray, but Krolicki sees that as unlikely since it hasn't been long since that city displayed the Olympic rings.
Krolicki said the Reno-Tahoe group has been advised by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, not as a political ploy but because he helped Salt Lake City stage its games.
Assuming that the Reno-Tahoe group could convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that Northern Nevada is the best American candidate to be host, it would then enter the international competition.
Krolicki said what could be the biggest obstacle to Reno-Tahoe winning a bid could be a successful U.S. bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.
Chicago is the U.S. candidate for the summer bid, winning a spirited competition with Los Angeles for that honor.
If Chicago is chosen to host the 2016 event, Krolicki believes the U.S. Olympic Committee might not even submit a winter bid for 2018.
Chicago will have some stiff competition in 2016 with Rio de Janiero believed to be a front-runner for the Games.
So is Krolicki cheering for Chicago?
"At this point, we want the games to be in the United States, so we'll be rooting for them eagerly," even if that city winning would ruin Reno-Tahoe's chances.
Krolicki said it's unknown whether organizers would consider a separate bid in 2022. He acknowledged that a lot of Northern Nevada interest in hosting the games in 2014 waned when that bid was lost.
Another question for Las Vegas is how much Olympic spin-off would come Southern Nevada's way if Reno-Tahoe got the bid. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of interest in Las Vegas when Salt Lake City hosted the games, even though it was just a short plane trip away from the Utah venues.
A lot of things will be different by the time the games would roll around.
By the time 2018 arrives, Las Vegas could be served by a new international airport in Ivanpah Valley. By then, we could have dozens of nonstop flights to Las Vegas from all corners of the world.
By then, Las Vegas would have more than 200,000 hotel rooms.
Also, Las Vegas might have one or more professional sports franchises so sports could play an even greater role in the city's identity.
Regardless of whether Las Vegas would see any direct benefit from a Winter Olympics bid, the state would be a big winner and get the kind of notoriety that put Turin, Italy, and Nagano, Japan, on the map.
It would be one more positive for Nevada's tourism efforts and a good reason why 2018 shouldn't be considered that far away.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Reno-Tahoe Group Pursues 2018 Winter Olympic Bid
Posted 12:35 pm ET (GamesBids.com)
The Sacramento Bee reports that a delegation wanting to bring the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to the Reno-Tahoe area made its pitch to the Board of Supervisors describing opportunities for international recognition and economic growth should Reno-Tahoe host the 2018 Games.
Harry York, former chief executive officer of the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce and vice chairman of the Winter Games committee, said. “we have the largest concentration of winter resorts in the world” and the region offers an array of venues for sporting events as well as the technical facilities for broadcasting the Games”.
He added the region enjoys a large corporate base, as well as a large ticket-buying base. “There are 13 million people within a four-hour drive”, he said.
York said winning an Olympic Winter Games is a decade-long process. The U.S. Olympic Committee calls for statements of interest from candidate cities 10 years before the Games’ date, and the Games are awarded seven years in advance.
He said even candidates that don’t win the award stand to benefit from the bid process.
York said the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition has received $250,000 from the Nevada Legislature over the past two years and the group is looking to attract an equal amount from other sources.
Supervisor Norma Santiago, who represents the Tahoe Basin, called for a resolution in support of the effort. The board was scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday
Tourism and Gaming
Nevada already gearing up for 2018 Olympic bid
By Richard Velotta / Staff Writer
The year 2018 seems like a long time away, but it's not too far off for Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who spent a portion of his time at last week's Governor's Conference on Tourism wearing the hat of the director of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coaliton.
The organization is spearheading Northern Nevada's bid to play host to the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Although Reno and Lake Tahoe would be the focus of the event, there certainly would be some tourism opportunities for Southern Nevada if the bid is successful.
Although the 2018 games are a decade away, any location that takes on a host role has plenty of work to do to prepare one of sport's great spectacles and that's why Krolicki already has begun talking up prospects.
Krolicki talked about the Olympics whenever he had the opportunity at the conference.
"I think there are many people who don't realize that there are benefits beyond that three-week spectacle of competition," he said. "We're talking about the opportunity to develop infrastructure that would benefit our state and building world-class winter sports facilities that would be used for decades beyond."
In his most recent trip to China, Krolicki got a chance to see some of 2008 Summer Olympics venues under construction, and he has cultivated friendships with Chinese organizers that could pay off when it's decision-making time.
Krolicki said Northern Nevadans already have begun talking about potential venue sites. The ski resorts that ring Lake Tahoe have varying advantages that will be weighed to determine the best place for slalom and ski jump events.
Locations around the Reno area will be scouted for potential ice rink locations to host various skating events including speed skating, performance events and hockey.
Mackey Stadium, home of the UNR Wolf Pack football team, would be the likely venue for opening and closing events.
A number of important partners have signed on to help prepare a bid for the games.
Several resort companies that have Lake Tahoe properties have signed on, and Krolicki said Squaw Valley — the California community that hosted the Winter Olympics in 1960 — recently came on board to assist in the effort.
The three easternmost California counties, Placer, Eldorado and Nevada, have agreed to help the Reno-Lake Tahoe bid.
The procedure for selecting a host city for the Olympics is daunting. First, a potential bidder must convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that it is the best choice for the games.
Krolicki said in all likelihood, Reno-Tahoe would be competing against bids from Denver (which spurned hosting the games in 1976)and Lake Placid, N.Y., host in 1980 and home of the famed "Miracle on Ice" hockey game in which the United States defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team.
It's also possible that Salt Lake City, which played host to the 2002 Winter Games, could enter the fray, but Krolicki sees that as unlikely since it hasn't been long since that city displayed the Olympic rings.
Krolicki said the Reno-Tahoe group has been advised by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, not as a political ploy but because he helped Salt Lake City stage its games.
Assuming that the Reno-Tahoe group could convince the U.S. Olympic Committee that Northern Nevada is the best American candidate to be host, it would then enter the international competition.
Krolicki said what could be the biggest obstacle to Reno-Tahoe winning a bid could be a successful U.S. bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.
Chicago is the U.S. candidate for the summer bid, winning a spirited competition with Los Angeles for that honor.
If Chicago is chosen to host the 2016 event, Krolicki believes the U.S. Olympic Committee might not even submit a winter bid for 2018.
Chicago will have some stiff competition in 2016 with Rio de Janiero believed to be a front-runner for the Games.
So is Krolicki cheering for Chicago?
"At this point, we want the games to be in the United States, so we'll be rooting for them eagerly," even if that city winning would ruin Reno-Tahoe's chances.
Krolicki said it's unknown whether organizers would consider a separate bid in 2022. He acknowledged that a lot of Northern Nevada interest in hosting the games in 2014 waned when that bid was lost.
Another question for Las Vegas is how much Olympic spin-off would come Southern Nevada's way if Reno-Tahoe got the bid. There wasn't an overwhelming amount of interest in Las Vegas when Salt Lake City hosted the games, even though it was just a short plane trip away from the Utah venues.
A lot of things will be different by the time the games would roll around.
By the time 2018 arrives, Las Vegas could be served by a new international airport in Ivanpah Valley. By then, we could have dozens of nonstop flights to Las Vegas from all corners of the world.
By then, Las Vegas would have more than 200,000 hotel rooms.
Also, Las Vegas might have one or more professional sports franchises so sports could play an even greater role in the city's identity.
Regardless of whether Las Vegas would see any direct benefit from a Winter Olympics bid, the state would be a big winner and get the kind of notoriety that put Turin, Italy, and Nagano, Japan, on the map.
It would be one more positive for Nevada's tourism efforts and a good reason why 2018 shouldn't be considered that far away.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Reno-Tahoe Group Pursues 2018 Winter Olympic Bid
Posted 12:35 pm ET (GamesBids.com)
The Sacramento Bee reports that a delegation wanting to bring the 2018 Winter Olympic Games to the Reno-Tahoe area made its pitch to the Board of Supervisors describing opportunities for international recognition and economic growth should Reno-Tahoe host the 2018 Games.
Harry York, former chief executive officer of the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce and vice chairman of the Winter Games committee, said. “we have the largest concentration of winter resorts in the world” and the region offers an array of venues for sporting events as well as the technical facilities for broadcasting the Games”.
He added the region enjoys a large corporate base, as well as a large ticket-buying base. “There are 13 million people within a four-hour drive”, he said.
York said winning an Olympic Winter Games is a decade-long process. The U.S. Olympic Committee calls for statements of interest from candidate cities 10 years before the Games’ date, and the Games are awarded seven years in advance.
He said even candidates that don’t win the award stand to benefit from the bid process.
York said the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition has received $250,000 from the Nevada Legislature over the past two years and the group is looking to attract an equal amount from other sources.
Supervisor Norma Santiago, who represents the Tahoe Basin, called for a resolution in support of the effort. The board was scheduled to vote on the matter Tuesday
