Olympics security chief details effect on LV

The 2002 Winter Olympic Games in the Salt Lake City area will attract huge crowds of organizers, competitors and spectators.

Organizers expect 1.2 million visitors to attend 140 ticketed events, where 2 million tickets will be sold.

Eighty nations will send 3,500 athletes to the Games and participate at 10 competitive venues and 68 noncompetitive areas.

About 18,000 volunteers are expected to assist and 12,000 accredited media will cover events.

Craig Dearden carries a piece of paper with the names of 13 people he never knew as a reminder of the responsibilities he has ahead of him in 20 months.

On the list are the names of people who have died at Olympic competitions, 11 at the 1972 Games in Munich and two in the 1996 Atlanta Games.

All 13 were victims of terrorist actions and, he said, an example of a breakdown of security at a world spectacle.

Dearden, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety and the primary architect of the security plan for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, addressed public safety professionals and security officers at the closing session of the ninth annual Tourism Safety and Security Conference in Las Vegas Wednesday.

The event, attended by about 200 people, was sponsored by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association.

In addition to outlining his organization of security for the Olympic Games, Dearden got the opportunity to recruit local officers to temporarily join the force since he figures to be undermanned for the Games and related events. About two-thirds of those attending the conference were hotel security officers and law enforcement personnel from Las Vegas.

Dearden also said Las Vegas will have a key role in providing lodging for people who attend Olympic events. While Utah will be in the spotlight during the event Feb. 8-24, 2002, Las Vegas undoubtedly will have an important role in being a remote host, he said.

"The fact is, we don't have enough hotel rooms in Salt Lake City to accommodate everybody who is coming to the Olympics," Dearden said. "We've identified five cities within an hour-and-20-minute flight of Salt Lake City that can expect to get an influx of visitors during the Olympics."

In addition to Las Vegas, Dearden said Phoenix; Denver; Boise, Idaho; and Cheyenne, Wyo.; could catch some tourism spillover.

"But I think Las Vegas will be the most popular place for people to go," Dearden said. "It's already a popular destination. I suspect there will be a lot of people who would want to be in the snow and see the Games during the day and enjoy the nightlife of Las Vegas in the evening. Some may want to package the Winter Games with some days of sunshine and will choose Las Vegas or Phoenix for that."

Dearden said one of the good things about Las Vegas accommodating Olympic visitors is that it is well prepared for large numbers of tourists.

"I'd say the only thing you may see here is a larger number of international visitors than normal during the time of the Olympics," Dearden said.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has mentioned long-term preparations for the 2002 Olympics in some of its planning sessions.

Rob Powers, a spokesman for the LVCVA, said the city already has some experience as an Olympic host.

"When the Olympics were held in Los Angeles in 1984, we made a concerted effort to get people attending the Games to stay here," Powers said. "Tracking the numbers afterward, we did see that Las Vegas benefitted from having the Olympics so close."

Powers said there is no special Olympic planning committee within the LVCVA, but he said a marketing program would be established to attract tourists to the city.

While the cities that are a short plane trip away from Salt Lake City are outside of Dearden's jurisdiction, the former sheriff of Weber County, which is north of Salt Lake City, said he will have plenty of other security and law enforcement issues to keep him busy in the months ahead. Among them:

* Coordination: There are 21 public safety agencies and 27 work groups and subcommittees working to keep the Olympic venues safe. In addition to keeping the Olympic areas safe, Utah law enforcement authorities have to maintain a normal level of police protection in their respective cities.

* Manpower: There are 4,000 sworn police officers in Utah. Dearden figures he needs 3,500 to cover all the Olympic venues. He already has begun recruiting law enforcement officers and security personnel from neighboring states to have enough manpower. He expects needing an additional 2,000 people to handle security during the event.

* Turf battles: Dearden said one of the biggest challenges in coordinating security is to avoid snubbing police chiefs and sheriffs who feel they must oversee their own jurisdictions. In addition to dealing with the various police agencies, Dearden said he must work with three federal agencies -- the Secret Service, the FBI and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

* Multiple venues: Although Salt Lake City is the official host of the 2002 Games, most of the events are up to 40 miles away. Dearden said 40 percent of the events -- many of the key skiing competitions -- are in Park City, east of Salt Lake City. Between them, the Park City Police Department and the Summit County Sheriff's Office have 50 officers. There also are venues and practice facilities in and near Ogden, West Valley City and Provo. Opening and closing ceremonies are planned at a stadium near at the University of Utah. In addition, there are several related festivals, cultural events, rodeos and church-sponsored activities planned around the Olympics.

* Preparedness: While terrorism is the most visible public safety threat of the games, Dearden said organizers also are preparing for event-related crime, public health emergencies, vehicle and pedestrian traffic problems and natural disasters like avalanches.

* Courts: To resolve conflicts involving tourists unlikely to return for trials, Dearden said his department is organizing special courts to resolve disputes specifically from the Olympic venues. He also said his group will set up free-speech areas and review scalping laws, legal areas visitors may test.

* Budget: Dearden said Australia is expected to spend about $500 million on security for the Summer Olympics that begin in September. He said he will not be allowed to exceed $40 million in expenditures for the 2002 Games. "I am getting much heat over that figure," Dearden said. Richard N. Velotta

is a business writer for the Sun. He can be reached at (702) 259-4061 or by e-mail at [email protected]

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