A golden opportunity lost — or a disaster averted? Some folks in Colorado are observing Utah's upcoming Olympics with a mix of envy, relief and nostalgia. News Specialist John Daley has this special report.
View The Story
Denver had the 1976 Winter Olympics--that was until a grassroots coalition helped pull the plug.
You could call them "The Games that Got Away." But the battle over the Denver Olympics of '76 was not so much about the sportsmcompetition itself. It was a fight over the future.
Sprawl. Congestion. Preserving the environment, and the economy.
Those challenges both unite and divide the American West, and the places at the heart of this tale of two cities. As Salt Lake prepares to host the Olympics....
Denver is left to wonder what might have been, looking on with a mix of envy and nostalgia. It's been said the first furious fight of the New West, the first attempt to grapple with galloping growth, broke out over the Denver Olympics of 1976.
Dick Lamm was then a state legislator.
Richard Lamm/Former Colorado Governor: "WE HIT THIS WAVE, WHERE COLORADO WAS SAYING: 'WE'VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL STATE, LET'S NOT SCREW THIS UP.'"
Proponents argued the Olympics would be an economic shot in the arm, a proud moment for the state.
Coloradans for the '76 Olympics included the power elite--the business community, political leaders like Democratic Denver Mayor Bill McNicols and the Republican governor, sports stars like Bronco Floyd Little, ski resorts Vail and Steamboat.
But opponents offered ominous concerns and worrying questions.
How much would the Games cost? Who pays? Who profits? What impact would the Olympics have on Colorado's environment?
John Parr/Olympics of '76 Opponent: "WE KEPT SAYING TO THEM THAT THE OLYMPICS WERE A GREAT CATALYST. LET'S FOCUS ON THESE ISSUES THAT THE LEADERSHIP OF THE STATE AND THE CITY WEREN'T FOCUSING ON."
Tom Nussbaum/Olympics of '76 Opponent: "THE QUESTION WAS NOT TO OPPOSE THE GAMES, THE QUESTION WAS WHERE WAS THE MONEY GOING TO COME FROM TO PAY FOR THE COST OF THE GAMES, AND THEN TO PAY FOR THE DEBT THAT MAY BE LEFT OVER."
Citizens for Colorado's Future got a referendum placed on the ballot banning public money be spent on the Olympics.
November 7, 1972. Opponents manage to build a grass roots coalition, convincing voters to send the Olympics packing--by a hefty 3-2 margin.
Denver became the only city ever to win the Games--and then dump them.
Richard Lamm/Olympics of '76 Opponent: "I THINK WE WERE HEADING FOR A FINANCIAL DISASTER."
Now, nearly 30 years later, some locals--the business community and ski industry in particular--wonder if Colorado passed up a golden opportunity to promote the state and to build permanent competition sites.
They see the perks that have come Utah's way, and say, "Way to go."
John Parr/'76 Olympics Opponent: "WE LOOK AT YOU ALL AND THE LIGHT RAIL SYSTEM THAT WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED BUT FOR THE OLYMPICS AND SAY HALLELUJAH!"
David Perry/Colorado Ski Country USA: "IF YOU WANT THE OLYMPICS AND YOU CAN EMBRACE THE OLYMPICS AND YOU DO A GOOD JOB OF EXECUTING THEM, YOU LEAVE BEHIND A LEGACY THAT IS VERY POWERFUL."
Frank Deford/Sportswriter: "I'M NOT SURE THAT 20 YEARS ON DENVER WOULD HAVE BEEN SO CAVALIER ABOUT TURNING THE GAMES DOWN."
Ultimately, the Olympics put the host city under a microscope.
What image does the world see? What future do we envision for ourselves? And as Salt Lake prepares to host the Games, both cities could consider the road not traveled.
One asking: "What if?"
The other: "What next?"
Dick Lamm/Former Colorado Governor: "I THINK WE'RE RETHINKING THIS WHOLE IDEA OF GROWTH AND DO WE REALLY WANT TO BECOME A STATE, DOES UTAH
WANT TO BECOME A STATE OF 16 MILLION PEOPLE? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WHAT DOES IT COST?"
There is still a lot of angst about growth, so it's an open question whether Colorado wishes it had hosted the Games.
After Colorado residents voted out the Games, the U.S.O.C. passed the bid to Salt Lake. But the I.O.C. was so mad about what had happened in Denver that they awarded the Games to Innsbruck, Austria.
More Info
