Destination curling isn’t going to keep Utah’s economy going, but the state hopes to lure visitors back to the site of the Games. Later this month national TV ads will be reminding viewers, “We’ve hosted the world, now let us host you.” Many hotels will take 20.02 percent off two-night visits between May 1 and Nov. 15. Park City’s ski lodges already offer a $20.02 discount on daily lift tickets for guests staying three nights. Says Jon Kemp of the Utah Travel Council, “Thanks to the coverage, people saw our mountains and thought, ‘What is this thing they call Utah?’ "
State officials want new businesses to call it “home” and brought in 350 investors during the Games. The pitch isn’t just to come ski, sled, eat and be merry. It’s stick around, buy a home. “We have to have a legacy,” says Dave Winder, who heads the state’s Department of Economic Development. His hope is the Olympics dispelled any notion that Salt Lake is a weird place.
Probably so, and what better way to find out than by shopping? The Gateway, the pedestrian mall next to Olympic Medals Plaza, averaged 100,000 people a day last month. Or, more correctly: 100,000 beret seekers. They’re (mostly) gone, so visitors now have room to roam. It’s an easy trip on TRAX light rail, which operates between the University of Utah and downtown Salt Lake, and even stops at restaurant row.
If you’re hungry for speed, check out Utah Olympic Park, home to the luge, bobsled and skeleton run. Walter Mitty, don thy crash helmet! In June thrill-seekers can take a whirl on a modified bobsled. (It’s on wheels, not runners, since the track isn’t iced. Still, you and the family can hit 70mph on the sharp curves.) Maybe you want serious air instead? The park has two offerings. There’s a “wanna-be camp” for aspiring aerialists, those daredevils on skis. The pros have to land on a hard mountain–you get to drop into a 750,000-gallon splash pool. During the summer, there also will be the chance to watch Olympic ski-jump hopefuls zoom off 90- and 120-meter hills lined with porcelain (they land on plastic shingles). If you’ve worked up sufficient courage by winter, you can pay $28 for a two-hour training session. Your first conquest? The meager 5m jump–though your friends at home don’t have to know that.
