The ISU Four Continents Speed Skating Championships in January is among the events hosted by the Utah Olympic Oval.Sports Salt Lake
Résumé: Annual events include the Grizz Cup youth hockey tournament (since 2006). Other recent events: NWSL’s 2020 “bubble” tournament; 2022 USA Fencing North American Cup; 2022 International Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup; 2023 NBA All-Star Game; UFC 291; 2023 USA Volleyball Boys Junior National Championship; 2023 International Federation of Sport Climbing Paraclimbing World Cup; 2024 BMW International Biathlon Union World Cup; 2024 US Speedskating Junior Championships Long Track & Winter World Cup Qualifier and US Open Masters Championships; and 2024 International Speed Skating Four Continents Speed Skating Championships.
Recent wins: US Speedskating Congress concludes on March 18; 2024 USA Fencing North American Cup and Division I National Championships; 2024 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball first and second rounds; and 2025 National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Regionals.
Venues: The region’s 2002 Olympic legacy includes multiple winter sports venues, which have hosted countless major events over the past two decades and will likely do so again during the 2034 Winter Games. Beyond that, nine area arenas host the annual Grizz Cup, one of the largest youth hockey tournaments west of the Mississippi. The Front Climbing Club last spring welcomed athletes from 18 countries to the first International Federation of Sport Climbing Paraclimbing World Cup, an LA 2028 Olympic qualifier. Additionally, the Salt Palace Convention Center has hosted USA Volleyball and USA Fencing championships since the adjacent $337 million, 700-room Hyatt Regency opened in 2022.
It pays to be seen: The Utah Sports Commission spent an estimated $121,000 airing its “State of Sport” commercial (153 total airings) during televised sportscasts in 2023, according to iSpot.TV, generating 17 million TV impressions. Only Visit Las Vegas spent more among destination marketers.
Forward progress: The Utah Legislature this month passed bills to pay for $900 million in construction costs for a Major League Baseball ballpark and $500 million for an NHL arena, if Salt Lake City can land teams in those sports. Construction on the $5.1 billion Salt Lake City International Airport rebuild will continue through 2026, and the 225-room Asher Adams hotel is scheduled to open this fall near the Olympic Plaza.
Stay and play: The area is a winter sports lovers paradise, but the world famous Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Tabernacle Organ make for a good indoor diversion. — D.B.
