Wyoming Seeks Share of Olympic Gold

With the Winter Olympics just next door, businesses in southwestern Wyoming are working to see that some of the gold and silver spills across the border.

The state has spent five years planning for the Olympics, which began Friday and run through Feb. 24. It budgeted $300,000 this year on promotions during the games and plans to join cities and ski resorts in hosting information centers for tourists and journalists at Olympic event sites in Salt Lake City and Park City, 150 miles southwest of here.

In the short term, Evanston is expected to attract the most immediate tourism attention because it is the last stop in Wyoming for travelers heading west on Interstate 80 to the Olympics. It is about 50 miles from Park City.

Evanston has budgeted $250,000 to promote itself, including setting up an information center in Park City and hosting fireworks displays and ice- and wood-carving competitions in Evanston. Those in Evanston also will be able to watch Olympic competition on a big-screen television at the town square.

City officials are pitching the town as a 70-minute drive from Salt Lake City with less traffic and lighter crowds. And a week before the games began, there still was plenty of room in town to stay the night--about 20% vacancy at the hotels, said Rick Lunsford, the city’s Olympic coordinator.

Evanston has developed an image as a haven where people can come to enjoy outdoor sports, Lunsford said. Evanston has been home to the Jamaican bobsled team and has hosted several national bike races, he said.

Olympic wrestling champion Rulon Gardner, an Afton native, planned to be in Evanston to meet the public Saturday, followed by the Jamaican bobsled team a day later.

In downtown Evanston, Linda Hetzel, owner of Main Street Artisans, said she is not banking on a surge in business. Still, she plans to extend the hours of her cafe to accommodate anyone who might want an espresso chocolate-chip muffin and possibly buy some local or regional art.

“I haven’t decided what I’m expecting,” she said. “Even if nobody comes I think we’ll have fun.”

Jackson Hole Mountain Resort hopes to lure business from Utahans who want to escape the Olympics onslaught. The resort is offering family vacation packages and has spent thousands of dollars on direct mailings and advertising in newspapers and radio stations in Utah to promote the relative tranquillity of Jackson during the games.

The resort also plans to try to attract the attention of some of the more than 9,000 accredited journalists expected to attend the games. The resort plans to offer day and overnight trips to Jackson for any journalist who has time for a side excursion from the Olympics.

“The Northern Rockies are not very well known internationally. People have heard of Colorado and California and nothing much in between, so I think it’s going to be very good in terms of recognition,” said resort spokeswoman Anna Olson.

But most of the benefits to the state from the Olympics will probably be realized five to seven years from now, said Laurie Green, director of travel and tourism for the Wyoming Business Council. That will be when people start planning another western vacation--and remember that they enjoyed Wyoming.

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On the Net:

Winter Olympics: https://www.saltlake2002.com

Wyoming Business Council: https://wyomingbusiness.org

Wyoming Tourism: https://www.wyomingtourism.org/