The idea of a possible Lake Placid-New York City Winter Olympics is gaining traction among state leaders. Most recently, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was at Mt. Van Hoevenberg near Lake Placid Friday to express her support.
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina/Milan were held at venues separated by distances greater than the nearly 290 miles between Lake Placid and New York City.
That’s given several elected officials some inspiration.
Last December New York State Assemblyman Robert Carroll, a Democrat from Brooklyn, and former North Country Assemblyman D. Billy Jones wrote a joint op-ed in the New York Daily News calling for people to seriously consider a joint Lake Placid-New York City Olympic bid.
During a panel discussion in January, Carroll said he wanted to see an exploratory committee formed to look at the issues involved in a potential Lake Placid-New York City Winter Olympics.
“We have the facilities ready to host these games. We’ve got Madison Square Garden and the Barkley Center and Yankee Stadium in the city of New York. And we’ve got this amazing biathlon facility and bobsled run and downhill run. We can put these things together. And I think we would be foolish not to consider it.”
Then on March 11, Gov. Kathy Hochul told Politico’s Albany Bureau Chief Nick Reisman she shared Carroll’s passion for a potential bid.
"If not us then who? We are ready for this and I have made significant investments in the Olympic facilities. We are a world class facility. I'm making a big pitch for this. We're an Olympic state!"
In a May 25 article in The Athletic, Hochul reiterated her support, saying, “I’ve actually been having significant meetings on this...It’s complicated, but we are up for it.”
Now, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, agrees. On Friday she was at Mt. Van Hoevenberg, the Olympic sliding facility near Lake Placid, and said the area is primed for another Olympics.
“Every year ORDA sites bring in over a million visitors and generate over $340 million in economic impact. This facility also trains our next generation of world-class Olympians and athletes. I can’t think of a better place to host another multi-city Olympic game, just like we just witnessed at the Milano-Cortina games. Governor Hochul plans to launch an official exploratory committee to study a formal Olympic bid. I fully support this effort.”
Among the issues that would have to be addressed is transportation for athletes and spectators between New York City and Lake Placid. Gillibrand says one idea is high-speed rail.
“How amazing would it be to have one from New York through Albany, up to Lake Placid and on to Montreal! It would be transformative. And I’ve already started meeting with the stakeholders in New York City and our mass transit experts in the state and they are putting together actual proposals. Faster transportation between the two venues, that’s what I want to work on. And it could be a legacy for New York. To have any part of high-speed rail would be tremendous for the long-term economic growth of our state.”
Former Assemblyman D. Billy Jones serves on the Olympic Regional Development Authority board and supports creating an exploratory committee to assess a potential bid.
“An exploratory committee is exactly what it is: it explores the ideas and the challenges. Now, everybody has to remember this is an exploratory committee, not a bid committee. Obviously, an exploratory committee will be answering a lot of the questions. It can work, but obviously we want to see how we can put in a bid for the Olympics.”
The earliest an Olympics could be held in Lake Placid is 2042.
