Could Montana Host the 2026 Winter Olympics?

Last week, the brilliant John Oliver presented an interesting segment about the 2022 Winter Olympics on his popular HBO Show "Last Week Tonight" (watch the clip here).

Thanks to the outrageous demands made by the International Olympic Committee, nobody wants to host the Winter Olympics anymore.  Oslo, Norway, recently took its name out of contention, leaving the IOC with two terrible options: Beijing, China ( a city which already hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and is located over a hundred miles from the nearest mountain) or a tiny resort town in the country of Kazakhstan.

It's too late to put Montana's name in the hat for 2022.  However, if the current trend continues, there's reason to believe a bid for the 2026 games might be successful.  The question is, would we really want to host the Olympics?  The economic windfall would be a boon for many industries in the state.  But the economic risks might outweigh the rewards.

One thing's for sure, Montana would be better suited to host the Winter Olympics than some place in Kazakhstan. The games could be divided into three areas within the state, with Bozeman and Missoula sharing the bulk of the events, while Billings could erect a stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies. We certainly have the ski resorts to facilitate the alpine events.  Both the University of Montana and Montana State also have existing facilities capable of handing both indoor and outdoor events.  Any additional facilities that were constructed could be donated to those Universities after the Olympics.

If pursuing the 2026 Winter Games is something most Montanans would favored, the only thing preventing us from landing the Olympics is the money and organizational structure to mount a serious bid.  Considering the revenue and prestige an event like this would generate, there's plenty of local businesses who could, and would, potentially invest in a statewide bid.