The Olympic Winter Games began in Milano Cortino, Italy on 02/06/26 and the reader may be wondering: Why hasn’t Alaska had its chance to host the Winter Games yet? Alaska has not sat idly on the sidelines during this most important competition. Anchorage has made “five serious bids” to host the Winter Olympics in 1960, 1972, 1992, 1994 and 1998.
George Byer, Anchorage’s Mayor from 1959-1961 attempted to bring the Winter Games to Anchorage in 1960 and 1972. The 1960 bid had little chance due to Anchorage being considered too remote and lacking necessary infrastructure. However, Anchorage’s 1972 bid looked more promising as it had by then become a major airline hub.
Anchorage also had a plan to address its lack of infrastructure, as Alaska historian Pierce Bateman noted, “…the vacant buildings in Whittier, a small, former military town near Girdwood, about 60 miles from Anchorage and connected to the city by rail…were the largest structures in Alaska at the time of their construction and could easily house 2,000 people under one roof in a sort of retrofitted Olympic Village.” The International Olympic Committee (IOC) opted for Sapporo, Japan instead…