FARMINGTON — The second time around, one Davis County elected leader is hoping to see the county expand its role in the Winter Olympic Games.
Utah officials announced plans Dec. 3 to make a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, having venues already in place from the 2002 Winter Games.
In the 2002 Games, the Davis County Legacy Events Center in west Farmington served as the site for a two-day Cultural Olympiad rodeo.
But Davis County Commissioner Bret Millburn, who served as general manager of transportation for athletes during the 2002 Games, doesn’t see any reason why the county can’t expand its scope should the state capture the bid for 2026.
“Why would we want to limit ourselves as a Cultural Olympiad event site?" Millburn said.
The county now has an Olympic-sized ice rink as part of the South Davis Recreation Center in Bountiful that could be a potential venue site, or a practice facility for the athletes, he said.
The center, paid for and shared among several south Davis cities, opened in 2007.
“I think Davis County would love to participate in a variety of levels," Millburn said.
But knowing the games are down the road and the state has yet to win the bid, Millburn said, such talk is speculative and putting the cart before the horse.
“Those things are so far down there," Millburn said. “There are a lot of hurdles to be crossed.”
The state’s 2026 bid is contingent on the United States Olympic Committee’s deciding it will endorse a city for those games.
That being said, Millburn, who began as a volunteer as part of the state’s initial 2002 bid process, only to see his role in the games expand, can’t hide the excitement in his voice when speaking about the Olympics.
“We need to explore our avenues," he said.
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