Mt Van Hoevenberg Sports Complex
Comprising the cross-country skiing complex and the sliding facilities used at the Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid 1932 and 1980, the Mt Van Hoevenberg Sports Complex welcomes around 66,000 visitors a year.
In 2022/23, some 65,675 people made use of its combined bobsleigh and luge track and cross-country skiing and biathlon trails, and over 50,000 made the most of its hiking and mountain bike trails. The Complex generated revenue of just over USD 2.5 million for the 12-month period.
Listed on the American National Register of Historic Places, the combined sliding track has undergone several refurbishments and modifications since the construction of the original natural bobsleigh track for the Olympic Winter Games in 1932. Regarded as one of the most technically demanding sliding tracks in the world, it regularly stages World Cup events and hosted the IBSF World Championships for the ninth time in 2012. Lake Placid will next host the IBSF World Championships in 2025.
The track, which is the training base for the US bobsleigh/skeleton and luge teams, also staged the 2023 Luge World Cup and the 2024 IBSF World Cup and North American Cup. Elite US and international athletes completed 20,000 runs around its 20 curves in the 2022/23 season, while more than 37,000 tickets were sold for the Lake Placid Bobsled Experience, which gives visitors the chance to ride down the track. Now running alongside it is the Cliffside Coaster, which opened in October 2020. It is the USA’s longest mountain roller coaster, at 1.4 miles long, and has become a very popular attraction.
The Complex’s existing 56 kilometres of separate cross-country and biathlon trails, which were built for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games and offer approximately 150 days of skiing a year, were recently replaced by a new, combined system of trails. Regularly groomed and patrolled, these trails are used by cross-country skiers of all abilities and also host annual events such as the Lake Placid Loppet and the Empire State Winter Games.
To increase summer visits, Mt Van Hoevenberg’s extensive system of hiking and cycling trails was expanded, and new signage was installed in 2021.
The Complex, which is run by the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority and owned jointly with the community, underwent extensive refurbishment in preparation for the 2023 Winter World University Games. The programme included the construction of a combined cross-country skiing/biathlon stadium linked by a bridge to a new lodge. The lodge features a new indoor start/push track, a climbing wall, competition rooms and lounges, and aims to enhance the appeal of the Complex among recreational and amateur athletes and generate more revenue. The Complex is expected to attract 200,000 visitors a year with these improvements.