Could we see a joint Phoenix-Flagstaff Winter Olympics bid? (ski resorts, 2015)

[Pink Jazz]

Considering Milan and Cortina just won a joint bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, could we potentially see a joint Phoenix-Flagstaff bid? Indoor sports could be played in the Phoenix area, while the outdoor sports that require snow can be played up in Flagstaff. Does anyone think this is a good idea?

[Valley Native]

I'd like to think it could be possible, but one setback could be the lack of snow during many recent winters. This past winter was the first one in a long time where there was abundant snow. Even as much snow as Flagstaff receives on average, there are times during the winter months when the area has absolutely no snow on the ground, and there is even a lack of a decent snowpack at the Snow Bowl. That's the only thing I could see which might be a hindrance.

Regardless, ADOT had better get busy and widen/upgrade I17 north of Anthem. The traffic between Phoenix & Flagstaff is bad enough on summer weekends. Imagine what it would be like during a major global event like the Olympics!

[Hschlick84]

I doubt Flagstaff could handle the Olympics, it would overwhelm the area. It's already crowded during the summer with tourists, traffic and crowds, anymore would just shutdown the city and make it chaotic.

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Hschlick84

I doubt Flagstaff could handle the Olympics, it would overwhelm the area. It's already crowded during the summer with tourists, traffic and crowds, anymore would just shutdown the city and make it chaotic.

Why couldn't Flagstaff handle the Olympics? It's certainly no big city, but it's not exactly a tiny remote mountain town either. How did even smaller towns (Lake Placid, NY, Lillehammer, Norway, and Pyeongchang, South Korea) handle the tourists, traffic, and crowds when they hosted the Winter Olympics? They somehow managed, and it was a huge economic boom to all those places. Not to mention the positive spotlight they were put in with all the national & global attention.

My main concern would be the lack of snow, which has been an issue during the past few winters (with the exception of this past one). Not sure if climate change is playing a part, but northern AZ seems to be getting warmer temperatures and less snowpack overall. Unless it takes place during a winter with average to above average snowfall, there would have to be artificial snow in order for it to be successful.

[Bondurant]

Doubt it would ever happen and I am happy for it. The Olympics are a scam. It's a loser for the local economy and taxpayers. I don't think the ego of your average Arizonan is fragile enough they would take those losses for the "prestige" of hosting the Olympics.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

Doubt it would ever happen and I am happy for it. The Olympics are a scam. It's a loser for the local economy and taxpayers. I don't think the ego of your average Arizonan is fragile enough they would take those losses for the "prestige" of hosting the Olympics.

I also don't think AZ has a big enough 'cover' to hide all the scamming that goes into prepping for the Olympics.
I picture dozens of abandoned Gila River Arena clones and other buildings sprinkled all over the state 2 years after the closing ceremonies (built whether they were needed or not).

[Valley Native]

Originally Posted by Bondurant

Doubt it would ever happen and I am happy for it. The Olympics are a scam. It's a loser for the local economy and taxpayers. I don't think the ego of your average Arizonan is fragile enough they would take those losses for the "prestige" of hosting the Olympics.

Sure, it was a loser for Salt Lake City when they hosted it in 2002. It put the entire state of Utah in a negative spotlight and caused shame & disgrace for many years to follow. The way I see it, hosting the Olympics is about on the same level as hosting a Super Bowl. When Arizona hosted its first Super Bowl in 1996, it was so horribly planned and such a money losing event that Arizona decided to host it again in 2008, 2015, and 2023. Gotta love the naysayers!
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[thinkalot]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

Sure, it was a loser for Salt Lake City when they hosted it in 2002. It put the entire state of Utah in a negative spotlight and caused shame & disgrace for many years to follow. The way I see it, hosting the Olympics is about on the same level as hosting a Super Bowl. When Arizona hosted its first Super Bowl in 1996, it was so horribly planned and such a money losing event that Arizona decided to host it again in 2008, 2015, and 2023. Gotta love the naysayers!
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You don't have to build The venues to host a Super Bowl. You don't need dormitories for all the athletes from all of the countries with a Super Bowl.

[cjseliga]

Originally Posted by Pink Jazz

Considering Milan and Cortina just won a joint bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, could we potentially see a joint Phoenix-Flagstaff bid? Indoor sports could be played in the Phoenix area, while the outdoor sports that require snow can be played up in Flagstaff. Does anyone think this is a good idea?

Maybe if we were back in the Lake Placid days!

I know many people talked about the possibility of lack of snow, depending on how wet the winter would be, and while it's a concern, the 2022 Winter Olympics in China will be facing that same possibility and I guess they are already planning on making artificial snow because Zhangjiakou, where most of the skiing will be held, doesn't get that much.

I think the bigger setback is the Arizona Snowbowl itself, with only a 2,300 ft. vertical drop, you really think that one resort will be able to host the combined, downhill, super-G, slalom, giant slalom, freestyle, and snowboarding?

In addition they would have to build a track to be shared with bobsleigh, luge, skeleton and also a ski jump place. And what about the opening and closing ceremonies, are you building a temporary 65,000 seat stadium in Flag?

If you look at the 2002 SLC host sites, they had 3 different venues/resorts for the skiing events, that's the way to do it, if you can:

Deer Valley (3,000 ft. vertical)
Alpine skiing (slalom), freestyle skiing

Snowbasin (2,959 ft. vertical)
Alpine skiing (combined, downhill, super-G)

Park City Mountain Resort (3,200 ft. vertical)
Alpine skiing (giant slalom), snowboarding

Just thinking about possible US places that can host future Winter Olympics, I would say SLC (obviously) and Denver.

I was throwing around a possible Lake Tahoe/Bay Area(San Fran and San Jose) idea and even that probably wouldn't work.

I would like to see Denver get the next Winter Olympics held in the US, since SLC already had it once. Have the opening and closing ceremonies where the Broncos play, use 2 or 3 ski resorts in the Rockies to host all the skiing, use the Pepsi Center and other smaller arenas along the Front Range in Boulder and Ft. Collins and the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland for indoor events.

[KurtAZ]

Even if making snow and/or snowfall weren't an issue...Snow Bowl isn't exactly an "Olympic" mountain. Fun for skiing in AZ, sure...but there would need to be huge amounts of money put into making Snow Bowl a competitive venue.