PARK CITY, Utah (ABC4) — Officials at the Utah Olympic Park have cut the ribbons for the grand opening of the Spencer F. Eccles Olympic Mountain Center on Wednesday, March 1.

The new center includes two new ski runs, a high-speed quad chairlift, snowmaking systems and night training area lights for athletes that are undergoing alpine and freestyle ski training.

“This is truly a game changer,” said Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation CEO Colin Hilton. “We can now offer a progression of training and competition opportunities above and beyond what exists anywhere else in the world.” 

  • Courtesy of Amber Suta/KTVX
  • Courtesy of Amber Suta/KTVX
  • Courtesy of Amber Suta/KTVX
  • Courtesy of Amber Suta/KTVX

Officials say the new Olympic Mountain Center is partly funded through a $5 million grant by the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. According to the press release, the center’s name recognizes the Foundation’s chairman and CEO, Spencer F. Eccles, who had been generously supporting the enhancement of sports facilities in Utah. Eccles had been an All-American ski racer and Ski Team Captain for the University of Utah in the 1950s.

“I’m thrilled to be a part of what young people will experience with these extraordinary facilities as they develop their ski racing skills and pursue their dreams … just as I did as a kid,” Eccles said. “Believe me, back in my day we had nothing like this! It’s going to be incredible!”

The whole facility cost about $18.5 million, officials say.

The Utah Olympic Park is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors can purchase tickets for winter bobsledding, spring tubing and a tour of the park on the website.