With all the current attention on the Winter Olympics, we have a two-part question for this week's Reader Participation Day: In an earlier era, a U. S. National Park was one of three finalists vying for the right to host the 1932 Winter Olympics. Do you know which park was in contention then...and should an NPS site ever be considered for some events for a future Winter Games?
The Winter Olympics have changed almost beyond recognition since the 1932 games, which included athletes from only 17 countries competing in 14 events. This year's version reportedly involve 88 nations and competition in nearly a hundred events, with billions of dollars spent on elaborate facilities for everything from ski jumping and luge to bobsleds and figure skating.
Bids are already in for the 2022 edition of the Olympics, but the hopes by some in a previous generation for a winter games in a U. S. national park brings us to our second question of the day: Should a future bid by a U. S. city for a Winter Olympics include the possibility of holding any activities in an NPS area?
Events which require enormous facilities, such as stadiums seating tens of thousands of spectators, would seem to be a non-starter for a park, but what about competitions such as cross country skiing or even the biathlon? Proposals to host even more events were made in 1932, when supporters suggested a major role for a national park in that year's games.
In today's world, where some suggest parks need to find new ways to attract visitors—and sources of revenue—the idea could arise again if cities such as Seattle (near Mount Rainier N.P.) or Denver (near Rocky Mountain N.P.) decided to bid for a future Winter Olympics.
So, can you identify the national park that was a finalist for the 1932 winter games ...and should the idea be considered again on even a limited basis in the future?
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Here's a link to Sarajevo from Smithsonian:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/sarajevos-abandoned-olympic-sites-...