Olympic funding: SB 333 could provide funding for Snowpark, UOP developments

Sun sets behind the ski jumps at the Utah Olympic Park. Venues like the UOP will host more events in 2034 than they did at the 2002 Games. Ski Jumping is a good axample of this as women's ski jumping was not a part of the 2002 Olympics. Photo: Michele Roepke

The bill doesn’t cover football, baseball, hockey, or basketball stadiums but instead focuses on Olympic venues and large-scale sports infrastructure projects. Projects would need to cost at least $100 million to qualify.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – With less than two weeks remaining in the Utah legislative session, lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill to establish a funding structure for major sporting event venues, specifically those likely intended for the 2034 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

SB333, sponsored by Sen. Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton), would allow cities and counties to create “major sporting event venue zones”, capturing property and sales tax increments for up to 40 years to fund Olympic-related infrastructure. The bill doesn’t cover football, baseball, hockey, or basketball stadiums but instead focuses on Olympic venues and large-scale sports infrastructure projects. Projects would need to cost at least $100 million to qualify.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, counties with a designated venue zone could impose new taxes, including energy sales and use tax, telecommunications license tax and up to a 15% accommodations tax on hotel rooms within the district (with county approval.)

Funds could finance Olympic housing, infrastructure improvements, and venue upgrades. The bill says municipalities applying for venue zone status must also plan for increased public transit, improved parking and commercial development, air quality measures and affordable housing near sports facilities.

Lawmakers say SB333 is expected to move quickly, stressing that key infrastructure must be in place well before 2034. Stevenson sees it as an extension of Utah’s Public Infrastructure District (PID) model, used for projects like the Utah Inland Port and Point of the Mountain development.

Potential local impact

Park City and Summit County are set to host numerous skiing and sliding events, making it one of the most impacted regions should SB 333 pass. Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley Resort will host freestyle and snowboarding venues and the Utah Olympic Park is where bobsled, skeleton, ski jumping will take place.

SB 333 explicitly gives Summit County authority to levy a special resort tax for these zones​ KSL Reported, indicating a heavy emphasis on funding improvements there. The Park City community can expect enhancements to roads, transit (to move spectators up and down the canyon), and venue expansions or renovations. These changes will be geared toward handling an influx of athletes and tourists, ensuring the ski town venues can operate smoothly during peak events.

In Wasatch County, Olympic competitions will take place in Midway at Soldier Hollow (a site for cross-country skiing and biathlon) and in Weber County events will be held in Snowbasin (designated for alpine skiing).

Local governments here could establish venue zones to finance upgrades like expanded spectator areas, improved roads, and venue modernization, according to the bill. Proponents of the bill say investments will not only serve the events but can leave lasting infrastructure improvements (for example, better roads or utilities for residents post-Games).

Zones could collect up to 75% of the property tax increment collected and 100% of local sales and use tax over 25-40 years to cover the cost of projects, according to the legislation.