Why Lake Placid Is No Longer Needed for the 2026 Winter Olympics

Lake Placid will not host any Olympic events during the 2026 Winter Games, despite being named the official backup site for sliding sports like bobsled, luge, and skeleton. Organizers of the Milan-Cortina Olympics confirmed this week that the newly rebuilt track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, has passed final inspection and will be ready in time, according to Albany's WNYT-Channel 13.

For months, Lake Placid’s Olympic Sports Complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg had been considered a serious contender, beating out Innsbruck, Austria, and St. Moritz, Switzerland, to step in if construction delays in Italy made the sliding events impossible. Lake Placid was officially designated as the “Plan B” site in December.

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New York Misses Chance to Host 2026 Olympic Events

Had Lake Placid been tapped, it would have marked the third time the village hosted Olympic competition, following the iconic 1932 and 1980 Winter Games. Local tourism leaders and sports officials had hoped the opportunity would bring another international spotlight and economic boost to the Adirondacks.

The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), which manages the state's winter sports venues, had been preparing for the possibility of hosting, however, organizers in Italy say construction has progressed enough to keep all events in Europe.