Benny Profane
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2020
Maybe there's hope for a third Olympics
"Up in the Empire State’s Adirondack Mountains, about an hour west of the state’s primary north-to-south freeway, lies the little village of Lake Placid. It’s the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics where, of course, speed skater Eric Heiden earned five gold medals and the USA hockey team beat the Soviet Union in what became known as the Miracle on Ice.
With roughly 2,200 residents, it’s far from the size of other Olympic host cities like Beijing or Vancouver, and yet it’s once again hosting a major sports event:
Tourism really is the only industry in Lake Placid, so the village is relying on these games and venue improvements. The hope is to attract not only more visitors but also athletes who want to train and stay – and spend – in Lake Placid.
The University Games are still going on, but already the venue upgrades are paying dividends. Next month FIS, the international governing body for skiing and snowboarding, will host a world cup event in Lake Placid.
“We’re going to host that for the first time in, I don’t know, maybe 28 years,” ORDA board member Art Lussi told The Daily Upside. “The midwest was supposed to host it, but they weren’t up to standards, so FIS called us. Normally, you have to bid and pay to get these kinds of events, but now, we’re getting asked to host them.”"
"Up in the Empire State’s Adirondack Mountains, about an hour west of the state’s primary north-to-south freeway, lies the little village of Lake Placid. It’s the site of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics where, of course, speed skater Eric Heiden earned five gold medals and the USA hockey team beat the Soviet Union in what became known as the Miracle on Ice.
With roughly 2,200 residents, it’s far from the size of other Olympic host cities like Beijing or Vancouver, and yet it’s once again hosting a major sports event:
- This week, Lake Placid kicked off the Winter University Games, which are like the Olympics for college students. While the village hasn’t let its venues fall into disrepair like Sarajevo or Rio de Janeiro, the University Games would’ve been impossible to pull off if Lake Placid had to work with the same facilities it did 42 years ago.
- Taking the burden off the village itself, the state and its sports arm, the Olympic Regional Development Authority, invested $500 million into revamping Lake Placid’s aging venues – the ski jumping complex, the cross-country ski center, the speed skating oval, the bobsled run – as well as nearby facilities like Wilmington’s Whiteface Mountain Ski Resort.
Tourism really is the only industry in Lake Placid, so the village is relying on these games and venue improvements. The hope is to attract not only more visitors but also athletes who want to train and stay – and spend – in Lake Placid.
The University Games are still going on, but already the venue upgrades are paying dividends. Next month FIS, the international governing body for skiing and snowboarding, will host a world cup event in Lake Placid.
“We’re going to host that for the first time in, I don’t know, maybe 28 years,” ORDA board member Art Lussi told The Daily Upside. “The midwest was supposed to host it, but they weren’t up to standards, so FIS called us. Normally, you have to bid and pay to get these kinds of events, but now, we’re getting asked to host them.”"
