Nevada officials ramp up efforts for 2018 Olympics

PROPONENTS OF an effort to bring the 2018 Olympic Winter Games to the Reno-Lake Tahoe region have gained some momentum recently from local officials and even Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who successfully led Salt Lake City’s 2002 bid.
    Squaw Valley hosted the Winter Games in 1960, but proponents of a 2018 bid say pairing a larger city like Reno with the numerous winter resorts ringing nearby Lake Tahoe makes economic and logistical sense.
    “How do we match up against other cities that might be vying for the bid in 2018? I think we match up very well. We have an airport that can handle it. We have the mountains so close. We are one of a few cities that is 45 minutes away from the furthest venue,” said Steve Trounday of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition in an interview with Reno’s KRNV television station.
    But while some have said traffic could be the biggest roadblock, Trounday points out that the region does have multiple highways leading up to Tahoe and a railroad running right through downtown Reno. Trounday also said the Olympic Games could help the area secure a new form of transportation that would benefit future generations.
Supporters also said money generated from the Games would total more than $5 billion and create many new jobs.
    Romney recently spoke to members of the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition, telling the group he would do everything he could to bring the 2018 Games to the United States while not specifically endorsing a Reno-Tahoe bid.      “I wouldn’t be surprised if Salt Lake isn’t a competitor again,” Romney said.
    Denver may also be in the running for a 2018 bid as proponents there are trying to rally support among the state’s ski areas to join forces with the state capital on a proposal.
    For his part, Romney said the Olympic Games “are worth stretching for.”
    “Just getting to touch the Games and put your hands on it will be something you’ll never forget,” he added. “Give up all your money, give up your jobs, give all it takes to bring the Games and I’ll be right with you.”
    “We did it before, we can do it again,” said Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, who chairs the Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition. Krolicki, who also heads Nevada’s Commission on Tourism and its Commission on Economic Development, has made winning the 2018 Olympics a key goal of his office.
    The coalition must make its bid to the United States Olympic Committee by next summer. If it succeeds there, it will make its bid to the International Olympic Committee in 2009. A decision will be made in 2011.

    — The Associated Press contributed to this story