Transcript

Stevie Shaughnessey: Hi and welcome back to Home Stretch, The Daily Utah Chronicle’s sports podcast. My name is Stevie, and I’ll be your host. Today, we have sports writer Max Valva joining us to talk about his recent article in the Business and Politics print issue.  Hi Max, and welcome to the podcast!

Max Valva: Hey, Stevie. Thanks for having me.

Stevie Shaughnessey: First off, what’s your print article about?

Max Valva: So this piece that I wrote is on the opportunity of Utah getting to host the 2034 Winter Olympics here in Salt Lake and the surrounding areas. Last time it was hosted here was 2002, so, it’d be a pretty good opportunity, something we haven’t had here in a while.

Stevie Shaughnessey: So, what was the lasting impact of hosting these [2002] Olympics in Utah?

Max Valva: I think the lasting impact is just that Utah got to build new venues, got to build new facilities that really benefited the state. They built these just to support the athletes back in 2002, but obviously, they still exist, so that’s really sweet. Some things like, some of those venues that come to mind are Soldier Hollow up in Heber, and the Utah Olympic Park up in Park City. So, really sweet venues really increase the drive for tourism here. Really sweet in general.

Stevie Shaughnessey: Awesome, and I know we still, it was at Rice-Eccles, you can still see the torch over there lit up at all the home games, and in your article, you mentioned that you think Utah will host the Olympics again in 2034. Why is that? 

Max Valva: I believe that Utah is the perfect place to do it. I think it’s very appealing to the Olympic Committee for several reasons. First off, in 2002, it was very successful, and I feel like that they want, the committee wants to host in a place that will generate revenue, and I believe that Utah is a perfect place to do that, and most people here will agree with that. Hosting the Olympics last time in 2002 saw Utah get a huge boost in its economy and an increase in tourism that was very beneficial. Also, it lets Utah get some international exposure that the Olympics do provide, so that’s the reasons why it’d be great to have it here, to have it back. It’s also clear that the government officials here in Utah want to bring back some of the Olympics, or bring back the Olympics, which usually leads to at least some consideration from the Olympic Committee. 

Stevie Shaughnessey: And how would hosting the 2034 Olympics impact Utah? Obviously, there were great impacts last time, how do you think it would help Utah this time?

Max Valva: I think that what we’ve seen from 2002 is that Utah is a great place to host. I think that that wouldn’t change if we had it again in 2034. I think that it will probably increase more tourism, which might not be great if you love skiing here, but definitely think that it helps to create more jobs and yeah, just in general.

Stevie Shaughnessey: What are, kind of, your final thoughts on the piece?

Max Valva: I think that this piece was really fun to write. It’s a great opportunity for me, and if you happen to see print articles around campus, pick one up, definitely helps the Chrony. So, thanks for listening, guys.

Stevie Shaughnessey:  Awesome, and thank you so much for your insight, Max. 

Max Valva: Of course. 

Stevie Shaughnessey: All right, everyone, make sure you go look out for those pieces in the print stands across campus and go read Max’s piece. It’s a great informational piece on the 2034 Olympics possibly coming back to Utah. Thank you so much for listening to Home Stretch, The Daily Utah Chronicle’s sports podcast. Make sure you look out for new episodes coming every other Tuesday.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Producer and Host: Stevie Shaughnessey — [email protected]  | @steviechrony

Guest: Max Valva — [email protected] | @max_valva