When Salt Lake City, Utah, applied to host the 2002
Olympics, critics warned that nearby ski resorts would attempt land
grabs. Now those fears are realized: A bill proposed by Rep. Jim
Hansen, R-Utah, would force the Forest Service to exchange 1,320
acres of prime real estate next to the Snowbasin Ski Resort east of
Ogden for other resort land of equal value. Hansen claims Snowbasin
needs the land to accommodate visitors for the popular Olympic
downhill events, which will be held at the
site.
Environmentalists say Snowbasin is using
the Olympics as a cover to get the land it first asked for in 1989.
The Forest Service and Snowbasin agreed to a swap of 700 acres in
1990, before the Olympic hype.
Alexis Kelner, a
member of Save Our Canyons, says the larger land trade could harm
wetlands and allow Snowbasin to become a four-season resort
unaffordable to locals. It could also further entice Earl Holding,
the owner of Snowbasin and Sinclair Oil, who already has a
mega-resort at Sun Valley, Idaho.
Plans for the
larger swap include construction of condominiums, single-family
homes and a golf course – much of it to be built after the
Olympics.
Mike Korlogos, a spokesman for the
Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, admits that no one has
studied whether or not the full 1,320 acres is needed. He says,
“How else that land can be used after the Olympics – that’s not our
concern.”
“Warren
Cornwall
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Olympic-sized rip-off.
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