New Olympic plaza unveiled at Rice-Eccles Stadium

Salt Lake remains just one of two cities to still use 100% of their 12 permanent Olympic venues. Photo: University of Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — On Friday, the newly completed Olympic and Paralympic Cauldron Plaza was unveiled at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah.

The new plaza, which is fully open to the public, centers on the 72-foot-tall cauldron that now sits on a pedestal that features a cascading water element. The entire structure is now wired with LED lights. The project cost the university over $2.4 million.

Encircling the cauldron are eight monuments that tell a comprehensive story of the 2002 Winter Games in Utah. They display the athletes and medals of Team USA and the flags of each country that competed.

Attendees at the event included Senator Mitt Romney, Spencer F. Eccles, and members of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games.

“It seems impossible that nearly 20 years have flown by since the day we first unveiled the Cauldron here at Rice-Eccles Stadium,” said Spencer F. Eccles, chairman and CEO of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. “I still firmly believe what I said then, that this iconic symbol of ‘Salt Lake 2002’ will remain an important reminder of the legacy of the Games, which has continued to enrich the lives of all Utahns. I’m proud and humbled to have been a part of it. The memories and legacy of our Games still burn brightly in our hearts today—and I know they will throughout the future for all those who visit this beautiful Cauldron Plaza.”

“The Olympic and Paralympic Plaza embodies the amazing triumphs and camaraderie of the athletes who competed in 2002 on Utah’s ice and slopes,” said Catherine Raney Norman, chair, Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games. “These athletes are now passing on their knowledge to a new generation, making Utah a perpetual destination for world-class training.”