The Spencer F Eccles Olympic Mountain Center has become Utah's newest top-class ski facility ©Utah Ski Team

The Spencer F Eccles Olympic Mountain Center has been officially opened as part of the expansion of West Peak at the Utah Olympic Park.

Five-time Paralympic champion Chris Waddell and Olympic gold medallist Picabo Street were among those that gathered at the Utah Olympic Park for the ribbon cutting to mark the opening of Summit County's newest ski facility.

The centre features 10 lanes of advanced Alpine and freestyle skiing terrain that meet International Ski and Snowboard Federation standards for giant slalom and slalom races as well as moguls competitions.

Spencer F Eccles, who captained the University of Utah's ski team, has been named after the facility that will serve as a training base for local racers.

The Utah Olympic Park hosted competitions during the 2002 Winter Olympics and is in line to be used again should Salt Lake City be successful in its bid for the 2030 or 2034 Games.

Fraser Bullock, President and chief executive of the Salt Lake City-Utah Committee for the Games, was also present for the opening along with members of the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation (UOLF) and representatives from local ski teams.

The expansion of West Peak has been made possible courtesy of funding from the Park City Ski Snowboard Club, Rowmark Ski Academy, the State of Utah, UOLF and the University of Utah and a $5 million (£4.2 million/€5 million) grant from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

"The sense of collaboration is a hallmark for Utah and how we get things done," said UOLF President and chief executive Colin Hilton in a report by Utah news website KPCW.

"People call it the Utah way.

"This is another example of how a vision requiring various groups to come together, pool our resources, and shed away the critiques who said, 'You can’t do it, it’s too costly, it’s too complex'.

"We kept talking, we kept figuring out how to get the resources to do it, and today marks another example of how we do things differently."

UOLF chief operating officer Calum Clark added: "I truly believe that what we have here is a game changer for our community, for the sport, and for the programme for generations to come.

"And this comes through the partnership with our resident clubs.

"At the end of the day, we have joy as we watch their programs thrive.

"And this is where we bring the next generation of that to this [new] hill."