Mitt Romney tells Utah Senate SLOC has cut Olympic budget gap; asks for payment deferral, local cost help and volunteers

Mitt Romney, representing the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, briefed the Utah Senate on Feb. 7 on the financial status of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and asked lawmakers for several narrow forms of assistance.

Romney told senators the organizing team re‑estimated the budget and found a deficit of about $375,000,000 when he took the post; through cost reductions, new sponsorships and other measures the shortfall has been reduced to “under $100,000,000” and “over $200,000,000 has been cut from our budget,” he said. He credited new sponsors and local corporate support for the progress, and said 16 new sponsors signed letters of intent in the eight months before the briefing.

Romney asked the Legislature for two specific financial accommodations. First, he asked that a scheduled $58,000,000 payment owed to cities and towns in February be deferred by 60 days so SLOC can match that obligation to a roughly $224,000,000 payment expected from NBC and its guarantor, General Electric; Romney said the NBC payment would be placed in escrow for Utah, with interest, and that the U.S. Olympic Committee and IOC had agreed to move certain royalty payments until after the games. Second, he urged a legislative discussion of how to handle city and county costs tied to hosting the games — additional street patrols, emergency services and other municipal expenses — proposing that SLOC and the state find an equitable approach and noting a possible partial offset by returning sales tax on Olympic ticket sales (he estimated that at roughly $13,000,000).

Romney also sought support for a volunteer program and public engagement: “We have a small demand for about 30,000 volunteers,” he said, and invited legislators to participate and to promote volunteer opportunities in their districts. He described changes SLOC has made since last year — new ethics rules, management restructuring and a large volunteer program — and said local turnout and polls show improved confidence in the organizing team.

Senators responded with questions and brief remarks. Senator Mansell said the proposed deferral secures the payment by placing NBC funds in escrow and therefore is more secure; Senator Montgomery relayed the need to coordinate municipal services planning for non‑venue counties and asked about assistance for counties such as Morgan. Several senators thanked Romney and noted the Legislature would follow up through committees.

Romney’s briefing ended without any immediate vote; the Senate returned to its unfinished agenda after a short Committee of the Whole for the presentation.

Next steps: Romney’s requests were put on record; senators indicated committees and staff would follow up on the financial and permitting implications and on municipal cost allocation before taking any binding action.