Five Years Later
Art: Linnda Kohler Barnes
This year marks a significant milestone for Park City in two ways. Not only is Park City Magazine celebrating its 30-year anniversary, but five years have already passed since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were hosted by Salt Lake City.
The Games went off without a hitch, just five months following the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The Salt Lake Organizing Committee estimated that the Games drew 70,000 visitors a day for the two-week event. The international media in attendance often touted these as the most successful Winter Games ever, and the flawless operation now serves as a model for future Olympic host cities.
The continuing impact the 2002 Games have had on Park City is tremendous. The following ski season, in 2002/2003, was a record-breaking year for skier days in Park City, and every ski season since has continued to shatter the previous year’s record. Last year, Park City’s three resorts reported a combined 1,715,536 skier days, a 6.7 percent increase over the 2004/2005 season.
The Olympics also left Park City with the Utah Olympic Park, a world-class training facility attracting renowned athletes competing in bobsled, luge, skeleton and ski jumping. Visitors and locals enjoy the rare opportunity to ride the bobsled on the fastest track in the world and participate in clinics such as “Learn to Luge.” Non-thrill seekers can relive the legacy and excitement of the 2002 Games by visiting the 2002 Eccles Olympic Winter Games Museum at the Park.
Three phenomenal ski resorts and the Utah Olympic Park provide superior training for high-caliber Olympic athletes who have wisely decided to make their homes in Park City. Just a few of the celebrity athletes you’ll rub elbows with around town include Ted Ligety (Gold Medal in Men’s Combined in Torino), Jim Shea, Jr. (2002 Bobsled Gold Medalist), Joe Pack (2002 Men’s Aerials Silver Medalist) and Nikki Stone (1998 Women’s Aerials Gold Medalist in Nagano).
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