It’s not often that rural residents in the United States get a chance to have the Olympics take place a short drive away from their homes but if Salt Lake City Mayor Jackie Biskupski has her way the Utah state capitol will bring the Winter Games back to the region.

Speaking to members of the Olympic Exploratory Committee, Biskupski stated that “it’s really ours to lose” when discussing the choice between three cities by the end of the year.

The two other cities under consideration are Denver, Colorado and the Reno-Tahoe area of Nevada.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) are expected to conduct day-long visits to each of the cities before Thanksgiving.

Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Games and many of the venues used during that event are still in use and a recent poll showed that over 80-percent of residents in the area support another Olympic bid.

The games could be awarded for 2026 but is more likely to be after 2030. The most recent Olympics were the Winter Games that took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February of this year.

Official upcoming venues include:
• 2020 Summer Olympics: Tokyo (July 24-August 9)
• 2022 Winter Olympics: Beijing (February 4-20)
• 2024 Summer Olympics: Paris
• 2026 Winter Olympics: There are four cities up for consideration: Salt Lake City, Sion, Switzerland, Sapporo, Japan and Calgary, Canada.
• 2028 Summer Olympics: Los Angeles