Duran leads Al Nassr past Yokohama Marinos into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Al Ahli cruise past Buriram into AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Iran following deadly Bandar Abbas port explosion    Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian leadership reforms, appointment of Hussein Al-Sheikh    Ministry of Hajj issued over 150,000 Nusuk cards for the Hajj of 2025    Saudi Arabia deports 12,866 illegal residents in a week    Pope Francis laid to rest at historic funeral in Rome    Massive explosion at Iran's Shahid Rajaee Port injures over 500 people    SFDA clears first 44-ton medical shipment for Hajj pilgrims    Over 13 million worshipers pray at Rawdah Sharif in a year    Saudi orchestra to perform at Sydney Opera House in May    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Utah announces bid for Winter Games
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 05 - 12 - 2012

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials announced plans Monday for a longshot bid for another Winter Olympics, saying they already have the venues in place and have left behind the taint of scandal from the 2002 Games.
The bid for 2026 is contingent on the US Olympic Committee deciding it will endorse a city for those Games. Utah announced a bid far in advance to scare off any competitors, Reno-Tahoe among them.

Nevada officials said Monday they were waiting for a USOC decision before making a possible bid of their own.
“You can't do this on the cheap. It's an expensive proposition,” Utah Gov. Gary Herbert said Monday. “Utah is the smart and fiscally responsible place — we already have venues in place. There is no better place in the world than here.”
Forty percent of US winter athletes train in Utah, one reason the state is looking at adding housing to the Utah Olympic Park, the ski jumping and sliding venue, he said.
Utah's governor and Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker announced the tentative bid outside the University of Utah stadium, where ceremonies were held for the 2002 Winter Games.
“We are well-positioned financially and otherwise to host a Winter Games,” Becker said.
The 2002 Games were successful but left Salt Lake tarnished by scandal. Utah showered $1 million in cash, gifts and other favors on International Olympic Committee delegates in a scandal that rewrote the rule book for Olympic bids. Two Salt Lake bid executives were tried on federal racketeering charges but were acquitted.
The scandal “didn't start in Utah, but it ended in Utah,” Herbert said of the scandal's legacy. “We'll start with that attitude and bid on the up and up.”
Fraser Bullock, who was the No. 2 for the previous Salt Lake Organizing Committee, said Utah can put on the 2026 Games with private funding for $1.67 billion, relying on the federal government to cover hundreds of millions of dollars extra for security.
“The IOC likes to move Games around, so that's our biggest negative,” Bullock said.
He said Salt Lake City's biggest advantage is having a large urban center next to the 11,000-foot Wasatch Range, with improved highways and a light-rail transit network to get spectators around.
With new bidding rules in place for candidate cities and IOC delegates, Bullock said Utah can make a clean pitch on a level playing field.
Denver and Reno-Tahoe showed enthusiasm for holding the next available Winter Olympics, in 2020, until the USOC decided to let that opportunity pass. The USOC said it was regrouping to resolve a long-running feud with the IOC about revenue sharing.
A USOC panel is looking at whether to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics or the 2026 Winter Games, and could decide to go for the more glamorous Summer Games. The panel is set to make a recommendation later this month. The US hasn't hosted any Games since the Utah Olympics, and hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.