A major sporting hub

Residents and visitors extensively use the region’s Olympic facilities and network of skiing trails. More than 20,000 people skated at the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval across the 2022/23 season, and the popularity of the season pass, new lifts, modern learning facilities and lodges, and snowmaking advancements all played roles in attracting more guests and increasing visitor numbers by as much as 29 per cent and revenue by 48 per cent at Whiteface, Gore and Belleayre mountains. Whiteface was just one of several ski resorts that opened in the years after Lake Placid 1932. Over the last 90 years, it has developed into the largest ski facility in the Lake Placid region, offering over 280 acres of skiable terrain.

In total, more than 10,000 skiers, skaters and sliding sports athletes from over 30 countries trained and competed at Lake Placid’s world-renowned Olympic legacy venues at collegiate, national and international levels in 2022/23. And in 2023, Lake Placid staged over 50 high-performance sports events across 75 days of competition, more than 55 training days, over 20 junior Alpine skiing competitions and the Lake Placid 2023 FISU Winter World University Games, which brought together 1,417 young athletes from 46 countries to participate in 12 sports over a 10-day period.

Lake Placid’s history as a host of sporting competitions dates back to before the III Olympic Winter Games. Between then and the 1950s, it staged more international sporting events – including speed skating, bobsleigh and Nordic skiing world championships – than any other town in the USA. These events included the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1950. Before hosting the Olympic Winter Games for a second time in 1980, Lake Placid also staged five IBSF World Championships and the 1972 World University Games, the first time the event had been held on US soil.

Since 1981, this small village in the heart of the Adirondacks has hosted over 510 major national and international events and competitions at Olympic legacy venues. These events include no fewer than 20 world championships and more than 120 World Cup rounds in Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, figure skating, freestyle skiing, luge, skeleton, ski jumping, snowboarding and speed skating. Lake Placid also hosted seven NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey National Championships and 18 ECAC Men’s Ice Hockey Championships.

The community and the Olympic Regional Development Authority own the venues jointly. Founded by the State of New York in 1981 to protect the public’s investment in Lake Placid’s Olympic venues, the Olympic Regional Development Authority operates, markets and promotes the sites and brings events to them. These sites include the Olympic Center, the James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, the Olympic Jumping Complex, the Mt Van Hoevenberg Sports Complex, Whiteface Mountain, Gore Mountain and Belleayre Mountain.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority makes these venues available year-round, maximising the economic and social benefits they bring to the New York State Olympic region. It has also expanded its portfolio over the years, adding Gore Mountain and Belleayre Mountain, while a new combined bobsleigh, luge and skeleton run was built in 2000. In 2018, the New York State government made a USD 240 million investment in Lake Placid’s Olympic legacy venues in preparation for the 2023 Winter World University Games, a recognition of the contribution the venues make to the New York economy.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority also works closely with the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, leveraging the US Lake Placid Olympic and Paralympic Training Center built in 1989 to enhance the training opportunities Lake Placid provides. This partnership helps maximise use of the venues.