1. Inadequate indoor arena infrastructure

Denver may have one top-tier indoor arena (Ball Arena) for major events, but when you look at the number and capacity of indoor venues suitable for Olympic-level competition, it falls short. Many Olympic events require multiple large indoor arenas (for gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, indoor athletics, etc.). Denver simply doesn’t have the breadth of indoor venues concentrated enough to support that scale without massive new construction. For example: the publicly listed indoor “facilities” in Denver include things like the 7,200-capacity Magness Arena (primarily collegiate) and the 10,000-capacity Denver Coliseum.  Scaling to Olympic scope would demand either many new arenas or repurposing venues in a way that may be logistically and financially unrealistic.

1. Mountain-resort reliance & transport headache

A big part of Denver’s Olympic “pitch” would likely lean on the nearby ski/mountain resorts. But consider: many of these resorts are an hour+ drive from Denver, zoned by steep highways (e.g., Interstate 70 up to Summit County resorts) which are already congested in ski season. Even the state transit-agency acknowledges that for ski resorts, “I-70 risks turning into a gigantic parking lot.”  For an Olympic Games you need heavy-duty, high-capacity transport systems (trains, buses, robust links) between venue clusters and athlete villages, ideally in short ride-times. Denver currently lacks a reliable multi-modal, high-throughput transport system to the resorts that could satisfy Olympic demands. There are seasonal services (for example the Winter Park Express train from Denver to Winter Park Resort) but they are limited in frequency and seasonal operation.  Plus, weather disruptions (heavy snowstorms, closures) are a real risk in the mountains, which further complicates transport reliability.

1. Resort town capacity & lodging limitations

Even if you got athlete and media villages near the mountains, many of the resort towns don’t have the hotel capacity and support infrastructure that past Winter Olympics have demanded. Most resorts close to Denver are smaller and built for tourism, not a massive multi-week global event. You’d either need to build a large number of new resorts/hotels (which drives cost, risk of under-utilization post-Games) or cram into limited existing stock. Either scenario is sub-optimal.

1. Perception of run-down townships beyond premium resorts

While the premium resorts (e.g., Vail, Colorado, Beaver Creek, Colorado) are upscale and well maintained, many of the smaller mountain towns accessed from Denver haven’t been upgraded for mega-event needs. For an Olympics you want “world-class” everywhere — athlete villages, media centers, transport hubs, hospitality — not just in a few isolated luxury pockets.