Yes.
The International Olympic Committee awarded Denver the 1976 Winter Olympics in 1970, but the state turned down the opportunity two years later after voters made it illegal to use state tax revenue to fund the event.
Voters passed a constitutional amendment forbidding the use of state funds to finance the games Nov. 7, 1972. Organizers had no choice but to rescind the IOC’s offer as the city needed millions of dollars for construction and other preparation costs in order to host the games.
While business and civic leaders had believed that the majority of Coloradans supported hosting the Olympics, the rejection at the ballot box was seen as a reaction to the state’s aggressive focus on growth and development at the time. Voters were growing upset at open space being gobbled up by construction and state funds being used to subsidize building, historians say.
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