If Lake Placid becomes 2026 Olympic sliding site, New York's Rockefeller Center will be play big part

Tim Reynolds · The Associated Press

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 12:15 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 minutes ago

Picture this: A sliding jock wins an Olympic medal successful Lake Placid adjacent winter, past is chauffeured down to New York for an grant ceremonial astatine Rockefeller Center a fewer days aboriginal with thousands of radical determination to cheer connected some moments.

It could happen.

The constituent of incorporating New York into the Olympics is conscionable 1 of the unsocial details wrong Lake Placid's program if the two-time Olympic big gets asked to beryllium the tract of the sliding events for adjacent winter's Milan-Cortina Games, according to documents reviewed this week by The Associated Press. Lake Placid was picked arsenic the just-in-case backup way past year, and with the Olympics little than a twelvemonth distant a determination could beryllium looming connected whether the Adirondack colony volition beryllium called to service erstwhile again.

"The astir important happening is to springiness the athletes what they deserve, and that is simply a existent celebration," said Ashley Walden, the CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the Olympic venues successful Lake Placid. "They've been moving for it for 4 years. It needs to beryllium bigger than the mundane race. That's the cardinal to each of this. That's wherever New York City and the fanfare that we tin offer, successful summation to the race-night contention here, is crucial."

How and erstwhile the determination comes connected wherever the sliding races volition beryllium is unclear. Every denotation enactment distant by Italian organizers is that the rebuilding of the historical Eugenio Monti way successful Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, volition beryllium done successful time. But determination is besides a propulsion for a definitive answer, particularly with homologation — a fancy mode of saying getting the indispensable investigating of the way done arsenic portion of the certifying process — acceptable to statesman successful little than 3 weeks.

Simico, the Italian authorities bureau successful complaint of gathering the Cortina track, said Friday that "everything is going according to plan" and that crystal is already being laid down connected parts of the track, with pre-homologation slated for March 24-31. But International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation president Ivo Ferriani reminded sliders astatine Wednesday night's opening of their sports' satellite championships successful Lake Placid that they whitethorn beryllium backmost astatine Mount Van Hoevenberg adjacent twelvemonth for the Olympics, which caused the Italian contingent successful the stands to audibly groan erstwhile helium said that during his little opening speech.

Ferriani didn't connection a timetable. And that's the portion Lake Placid — and really, the remainder of the sliding satellite — is waiting to hear. Lake Placid's program volition instrumentality months to execute, and the sooner a determination comes the better, officials determination say.

"We are coming to a important constituent wherever we person to marque a decision," Walden said Friday. "We person a imaginativeness for what it should be, and we privation to beryllium palmy successful achieving that. And the longer and the little pb clip that we have, the little apt that is."

Bid plan

Lake Placid's bid program includes the anticipation of charter flights to bring athletes to and from upstate New York from Italy if those Olympians take to be the opening oregon closing ceremonial there. It adjacent details however sled transport from Europe volition enactment and however different airports successful the country — specified arsenic Montreal, Albany and Plattsburgh, New York, successful summation to New York's John F. Kennedy — could beryllium involved.

The Lake Placid program calls for Paul Smith's College, a tiny backstage schoolhouse astir 28 miles from Mount Van Hoevenberg, to service arsenic an athlete's village; the schoolhouse would fundamentally adjacent for January and February to accommodate that plan, and students determination — galore of whom are studying either sports absorption oregon hospitality — could enactment the games.

"We privation the athletes to person their colony consciousness and Paul Smith's lets america execute that," Walden said. "It's the cleanable size."

Hotel rooms successful the country person been secured for imaginable visitors and, either way, ORDA volition walk astir $80 cardinal successful the coming months chiefly to physique much spectator seating and modernize the refrigeration systems astatine the track. The operation progressive successful those projects is already underway and volition prime up rapidly erstwhile the way is closed for the play astir the extremity of this month.

There are parallels wrong the plans for Lake Placid and Italy that organizers successful the Adirondacks constituent to arsenic well. Part of the selling program is touting that there's fundamentally 1 grade of separation successful presumption of latitude betwixt Lake Placid and Milan, and however it's fundamentally 5 hours betwixt Lake Placid and New York — astir the aforesaid region betwixt Milan and Cortina.

"I can't wrapper my caput astir an Olympics being here," U.S. men's skeleton jock Dan Barefoot said. "I really don't adjacent cognize however Lake Placid volition grip it. It'd beryllium insane."

New York besides cites statistic saying the authorities is location to astir 3.1 cardinal radical with Italian heritage, 2nd lone to Argentina successful presumption of non-Italian locales successful the world. And portion Lake Placid played big to the Olympics successful 1932 and 1980, New York City has ne'er been an Olympic site.

The Rockefeller Center program — which would see immoderate collaboration with Olympic broadcaster NBC, which has a workplace close determination — calls for a medals podium, a mini sliding track, jock interviews connected NBC's "Today" with their medals, viewing parties, jock meet-and-greets and taste integration with celebrities, businesspeople and restaurateurs of Italian-American descent.

"You person this unthinkable metropolis that loves to celebrate, and these athletes that are displaced from 1 state present successful a spot and competing present and person these peculiar elements of celebration," ORDA spokeswoman Darcy Norfolk said. "It's the portion that I deliberation besides showcases New York state, Lake Placid to New York City, and benignant of what we tin bash together."