OLYMPIC DREAMS: Utah is ready, willing and waiting to welcome the world again.

• Author: Francom, Sarah Ryther
• Position: OLYMPIC DREAMS

Just as the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games got off to a start, Utah's own Olympic Exploratory Committee (OEC) released its years-in-the-making report about whether the Beehive State should once again bid to host the Winter Games. Their answer: a resounding yes.

And it's not just the OEC who's excited about the prospect of hosting again. Days before the report was officially released, the Utah State Legislature advanced a concurrent resolution to back a future bid. And most Utahns support the idea, too--a Dan Jones poll found that 89 percent of respondents would like the state to host another round of the Winter Games.

But as Utah gets one step closer to launching its bid, some wonder: is the state really ready? And, with hosting costs on the rise (several cities have pulled their bids due to the climbing cost), is hosting the event financially responsible?

Despite these concerns, Utah is ready, willing and waiting to welcome the world again, says Fraser Bullock, OEC member and COO of the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games. "Utah has done everything possible to be a great choice to host again."

Andy Beerman, Park City mayor and OEC member, agrees. "We have the advantage of having hosted the most successful winter Olympics of the modern era. We have maintained our venues, we have continued to improve our infrastructure, especially transportation, and our residents have an ongoing passion for winter sports."

In excellent shape

Utah might be ready, willing and waiting to host the Winter Games, but one giant hurdle remains, says Bullock. "Our biggest issue is that L. A. is hosting the Summer Olympics in 2028 and the next two winter openings are 2026 and 2030--our focus is 2030. Hosting back-to-back Games in the United States has economic challenges, but we believe we have a strategy to address that concern."

Hosting the Games has always been expensive, but the price tag has seen a significant increase during the last two decades. Utah spent just under $2.5 billion to prep for the 2002 event. Up to that point, $2.5 billion was the highest amount any host city had dedicated to the Games. A lot has changed in the past 16 years--Olympic budgets have soared. Russia, for example, spent an estimated $22 billion to prepare for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games. And that estimate doesn't include infrastructure costs, which increases the estimate to a hefty $55 billion.

On top of the sky-rocketing costs associated with hosting the Games, Utah wouldn't...