In seven years, Vail grew to become the most popular ski resort in Colorado. Seibert hoped that Vail (and the future Beaver Creek) would host the skiing portions of the 1976 Winter Olympics, which had been awarded to Denver in 1970. In early 1972, the venues for the skiing events were changed to established areas west of the continental divide, approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February. Alpine events were moved to Vail from the undeveloped Mount Sniktau (and Loveland Ski Area) east of Loveland Pass, and the Nordic events moved from Evergreen to Steamboat Springs. The original sites submitted in the 1970 bid satisfied a requirement of proximity to the Olympic Village (at the University of Denver). In November 1972, Colorado voters rejected a referendum to publicly fund the Winter Olympics, and within three months the games were transferred to Innsbruck, Austria, which had recently hosted in 1964.