Olympics and the Economy
Six months after the Winter Games, Utah is still evaluating the impact. The effects of 9-11, the nationwide recession, and related impacts make it hard to determine the exact benefits. An article in this morning's Salt Lake Tribune makes an attempt. It states:
"The Olympics provided no help to some sectors of the economy, such as construction or anything to do with computers."
Now that seems a little hard to believe. Governor Mike Leavitt held several well-publicized forums with national IT leaders during the games. Several major companies committed to business expansion. And construction? Obviously there were huge impacts with major resort area constuction, lodging construction, and transportation all related to the games. Lynne Ward is quoted as saying:
"You can't drop a quarter of a million people into the community and not help your economy."
She's certainly right about that. Things might have been a lot worse around here.
Governor Leavitt will be heading up several trade missions in the coming months related to Olympics carryover.
8:16:12 AM 
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