The U.S. Olympic Committee hasn't even decided whether to pursue a bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. But Michael Faust wants to be standing by if they do. He heads up the newly formed California Winter Games Committee:

"When the USOC decides to make a decision to pursue a bid, we just want to make sure that we're positioned so that we can bring those jobs back to Northern California."

Faust is referring to the last time the Lake Tahoe region hosted the Winter Olympics, back in 1960. The new committee includes local business and civic leaders.

Faust says they'll be working with Nevada's Reno-Tahoe Winter Games Coalition on how to best position the Lake Tahoe region for a bid to host the games.

"The reality is of course it's a very expensive undertaking and that's what the exploratory process is all about - making sure that we know the exact cost and the exact process that we go through."

Faust says hosting the Olympics would spur job creation and tourism. He says last year's Vancouver Games injected $800 million into British Columbia's economy.