ST. LOUIS — The next Olympic Trials are two years away, where athletes will compete for a spot in the 2026 winter Olympics in Italy.
The St. Louis Sports Commission said it submitted a bid to hold the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in St. Louis in two years. The competition is the qualifying event for the Olympics in the sport.
If successful, it would be held at the Enterprise Center, the first time St. Louis would bring back the figure skating championship since 2006.
The biggest benefits to holding an Olympic trial include tax and hotel revenue. St. Louis missed out on millions of dollars losing the gymnastics trials to Minneapolis this year. Some factors that led to the change included issues with venues and the financial aspect.
The last time St. Louis saw an Olympic Trial was in 2021 for men's and women's gymnastics where 21,000 fans saw stars like Simone Biles, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles at the Dome at America's Center. The commission said it brought millions of dollars into the city.
President Marc Schreiber serves as the president of the St. Louis Sports Commission said the economic impact to hosting successful Olympic Trials is great especially with highly viewed sports like gymnastics.
"It's somewhere between $15-20 million of economic impact [for St. Louis]," Schreiber said. "That's significant and where a community that thrives on hosting events like these. They are a significant boost for downtown St. Louis and for our entire region. There's a lot at stake when we get to host and they do a lot to invigorate our community and bring vibrancy especially to downtown."
How many times has St. Louis held Olympic Trials? What's the cost?
The St. Louis Sports Commission says the city has hosted a total of five Olympic Trials for sports like women's and men's gymnastics, diving, figure skating and even marathon.
The commission said the most desirable and most money-making trials include gymnastics, swimming and track and field. As for the cost of Olympic Trials, it varies depending on which sport or venue it's held at.
The St. Louis Sports Commission said there is a joint budget which is shared by local hosts organizations and the national body of the sport for the trials which can include things like venue costs, hotel rooms, transportation for staff, operational needs, medical coverage and marketing, media and promotional costs.
The larger the venue is, the more of a difficulty there is to pull off the event because the cost goes up.
Tim Ryan, the Director of Communications at the St. Louis Sports Commission told 5 On Your Side, "Some of the highest-profile Olympic Trials events have a financial guarantee as part of the bid specifications, which can reach into the millions," Ryan said.
After 2026, what Olympic Trials does the St. Louis Sports Commission have its eyes on?
The St. Louis Sports Commission said it has plans to continue submitting bids for Olympic Trials because of how supportive hometown fans are and because of St. Louis' Olympic connection as the first city to host modern day Olympics: the 1904 summer games.
"It's really important to us that we pursue those trials and do what we can to do major events in the Olympic and non Olympic years. But for 2028, certainly on our list would be to try to bring back the Olympic Gymnastics trials, or even the US Olympic swimming trials [in 2028], Schreiber said.
The commission said there are public safety challenges to holding Olympic Trials in St. Louis, just as there are in other cities, but they say crime in St. Louis has never been a reason why they've lost a bid. They also rely on the partnership and collaboration of the city and county to make the bids successful.