Even though the Salt Lake Olympics were much more profitable that predicted, leaving behind a larger than expected legacy for the foundation, the facilities — which also include the speedskating oval in Kearns — continue to run in the red.

The hotel would be an opportunity to make money, Bennion said, from the sale of the land as well as perhaps sharing in hotel profits. Plus, he said, the hotel would attract customers to the park's $200 bobsled rides and other attractions.

Bennion estimated the deal could generate several million dollars for the park, still shy of the $20 million to $30 million in additional revenue needed to bring the facilities out of the red. The facilities operate on earnings from the Olympic endowment.

Fraser Bullock, who heads the foundation board and helped run the Olympic Organizing Committee, said commercial development at the park would end with the hotel. "It's a single development," he said.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who would likely have to sign off on the hotel project, wasn't aware of it or of the pending legislation, his deputy chief of staff, Mike Mowers, said. "We would need to review more about the proposal as well as the legislative language before making a final decision," Mowers said.

Commercial development at the park was controversial when the it was first revealed because the park, along with other Olympic facilities, was built with $59 million in taxpayer dollars. Olympic organizers repaid that money from profits.

In 1994, the state was working out the details of selling the facilities to Olympic organizers who still had a year to wait before the International Olympic Committee voted on where to send the 2002 Winter Games.

While state officials had said there could be no development at the park, an agreement obtained by the newspaper showed that hotels, restaurants and other tourist facilities, along with office buildings and parking garages could be constructed there.

The possibility of development on the site raised concerns among some lawmakers and others over whether the state was getting enough money for the facilities. Leavitt's changes to the deal were intended to mitigate those concerns.

Land for the park was donated to the state by the developers of the Sun Peak project. In exchange, the state agreed to build a nearly $2 million road to the park through the planned housing development.

The deal to build the road was the subject of a federal investigation probe by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office because it involved federal funds. The inquiry was closed in 1995.

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