Economic impact

This additional net economic output was leveraged by the USD 1.3 billion spending with a direct economic impact for Utah (i.e. originated from outside Utah and spent inside Utah). The surge in revenue is attributable primarily to funding for the Olympic Games (40 per cent) and increases in sales, income, and property tax collections (45 per cent). The net tax revenue (additional revenue minus additional expenses) to state and local government amounted to USD 76 million for the 1996-2003 period.

It is estimated that the Games generated 45,000 job-years of employment (full-time employment for one person during one year measured by a standard 2,080 hours of employment per year), 0.5 percent of Utah’s total, and contributed 20 per cent of Utah’s job growth during the five-year period 1998-2002.

Although there is agreement on the temporary economic stimulus created by the Games for Utah, the scale of this impact is not consistent between the different studies.

An economic mild recession in 2002 mitigated the immediate post-Games effects of the spending power. Employment growth did not continue in the years following the Olympic Games. Some hotels, restaurants and retailers experienced a boom, but firms in sectors including business services, finance, insurance and real estate, ski resorts, transportation and construction suffered.

The Olympic Games seemed to have cushioned Utahns from the effects of a recession that was being experienced more severely elsewhere in the United States. It provided much-needed infrastructure, pushed forward development projects that might otherwise have been shelved, and provided work for many people who might, without it, have been jobless.

The infrastructural improvements made ahead of the Games are still benefiting the local community. These include an increased number of hotel rooms, greater ski resort amenities, a completely revamped freeway system, two light railway lines and the replacement of the city’s 150-year-old urban utilities.

In the long-term, tourism was boosted due to the worldwide exposure that Salt Lake City enjoyed combined with the infrastructure upgrades. The direct expenditures from skiers and snowboarders visiting Salt Lake City increased, growing 67 per cent from USD 704 million in 2002-03 to USD 1.2 billion in 2010-11, according to the Economic Development Corporation of Utah.

It was reported in 2020 that Utah’s hosting of subsequent sporting events brought an injection of more than USD $2 billion into the state’s economy, with Utah witnessing a 72 per cent increase in skier visits between 2002 and 2019.