Lake Tahoe, CA/NV – Fifty-two years after the Olympic flame was first ignited in the Tahoe region, California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom and Nevada Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki on Thursday announced the formation of the Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee (LTWGEC), a new joint initiative between the states to build upon existing efforts dedicated to developing an Olympic Bid for the 2022 Winter Games.

The new committee is an entity created by the leadership of two separate organizations that were set up to explore a potential bid for the Tahoe region, the Reno Tahoe Winter Games Coalition and the California Winter Games Committee, both of which will combine their resources with those of  the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee and dedicate them to the LTWGEC.

“The timing is right for Californians and Nevadans to come together and seriously explore bringing the Winter Olympic Games to the Tahoe region,” said Nevada Lieutenant Governor Brian Krolicki. “Our new committee is the evolution of years of work by many people and if the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) decides to bid on the 2022 Winter Games, we will be ready to showcase the Tahoe region’s scenic majesty and winter games capabilities.”

“As someone who has worked on bids for major sporting events like the Olympic Games and the America’s Cup, I know how important it will be for us to have a galvanized regional effort,” said California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. “We will only succeed if leaders on both sides of the state line stand as one.”

The Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee will be tasked with creating a group of business, civic and political leaders that will work to thoroughly explore the benefits and impacts of hosting the Olympic Games in the Lake Tahoe Region. According to Krolicki and Newsom, the new group’s leadership will be announced in the coming weeks – including a robust environmental leadership team.

“Lake Tahoe’s physical beauty is our greatest asset and our greatest responsibility,” said Lieutenant Governor Newsom. “We can’t do this without the environment being front of mind for us.”

“Andy Wirth, Squaw Valley CEO and President, was chosen to serve as interim chair of the committee at this incipient stage of the groups formation.  In the coming weeks we’ll be announcing the leadership of the Lake Tahoe Winter Games Exploratory Committee. We are creating an organization that represents the great diversity of our two states,” said Lieutenant Governor Krolicki.