Going for the Gold Again

Five years after the Olympic spirit captivated Los Angeles, a new group of Californians has dreams of the five encircled rings in its future, not to mention the prospect of big dollar signs. Lake Tahoe officials from both California and Nevada have joined with the Reno area to bid for the 1998 winter Olympic Games. One of the ski areas involved is Squaw Valley, the site of the 1960 games in which the United States won the ice hockey gold medal and skiers Billy Kidd and Jimmy Heuga made stunning medal-winning runs.

More is at stake than just the opportunity to host the 1998 games. When the U.S. Olympic Committee selects the American competitor for the games in Des Moines early next month, it also will be considering establishment of a permanent winter sports training center. The competition from Denver, Salt Lake City and Anchorage will be intense, but the Reno-Tahoe bid deserves the edge on a number of counts, including the excellence of its developed ski areas and proximity to a massive spectator population. With its casino industry, the Reno-Tahoe area has the lodging. It also knows how to handle crowds and entertain them.

Reno, the Olympic center, would host the Opening and Closing ceremonies, hockey and ice skating. Alpine skiing would be in California, at Squaw Valley just northwest of Lake Tahoe and at Heavenly Valley at South Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe region also has some of the finest Nordic skiing in the world. The major construction required would be ski jumps, luge and bobsled tracks, an ice rink and speed skating oval. Start-up money would be provided by a 1% hotel room surtax and a .01% increase in the sales tax in Washoe County, Nev.

There should be concern about what permanent effect the games would have on an already-congested mountain environment, particularly the California shores of Lake Tahoe. The major impact would be transportation improvements needed to get contestants and spectators into and out of Lake Tahoe and Reno.

The California-Nevada Tahoe Regional Planning Commission would have to have a critical role in such preparations. The prospect of the 1998 games could present the Tahoe region with the opportunity for development of a non-polluting public transportation system that would actually reduce auto use in the Tahoe basin, where air pollution is a major problem. One major advantage is that Amtrak passenger trains now run between Oakland and Reno via Donner Summit and Truckee, on the north edge of the Tahoe basin.

If Reno-Tahoe wins the USOC endorsement, the state of California should begin an assessment of the organizing committee’s plans and projections to see what transportation improvements can be made without tearing down mountains to build freeways. Modern transit facilities will be needed to meet future demand whether or not the Olympics come to the Reno-Tahoe area.

With the proper environmental protection and transportation planning, Californians should be enthusiastic supporters of the Reno-Tahoe bid for the 1998 winter Olympic Games.