Lake Placid, N.Y., would play host to bobsled, luge and skeleton events for the 2026 Olympics if a track currently being rebuilt in Italy isn't finished in time for the Milan-Cortina Games, officials said Wednesday.
There has been no indication from Italian officials that the track — a century-old facility that has been dormant for nearly 20 years — won't be ready in time. Lake Placid would be serving only as a backup site, just in case.
The Olympic Regional Development Authority, which manages the sliding venue in Lake Placid, said it would engage in “targeted dialogue” with Italian organizers to “further develop the Plan B back up plan for the sliding events."
“New York State is honoured to be selected, and we will work closely with Fondazione Milano Cortina to discuss the planning in a detailed manner to stage the Plan B back up plan,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
Lake Placid has twice been a Winter Games host in 1932 and 1980. It isn't unprecedented for Olympic events to not take place anywhere near the Olympic city; for example, surfing at this summer's Paris Games took place in Tahiti. Equestrian events at the 1956 Melbourne Games took place in Sweden and at the 2008 Beijing Games in Hong Kong.
“It would create a different environment, a different Olympic experience in not being with the rest of Team USA,” USA Luge CEO Scott Riewald said. “But there’s nothing like competing at an Olympics on your home turf and on your home soil. And I think it presents some great opportunities for Team USA athletes and for USA Luge athletes to compete with the best in the world on a track where we’ve had success.”
It would provide the U.S. luge, bobsled and skeleton teams with a massive advantage, since Lake Placid is their home track. American sliders tend to fare well in World Cup races in Lake Placid, and the track at Mount Van Hoevenberg is the site of the next world bobsled and skeleton championships in March.
Italy’s decision to rebuild the century-old track in Cortina at a cost of nearly $90 million has been met with fierce opposition by the International Olympic Committee. There were a number of other suggestions, such has holding sliding events at tracks in nearby Austria or Switzerland.
The Italians insist the track will be ready. Plans are in place to have work continue throughout this winter with temporary covering at the facility to shield both the track and workers from the elements. The refrigeration system will be converted to a heating mechanism to further improve conditions for those working at the site over the winter months.
But it remains unclear if sliders will be able to test the track in March as planned, and if that doesn't happen, Lake Placid could become an even more viable candidate.
“We still have to go into this planning that the games are going to be in Cortina and have to take advantage of any opportunity that we have to gather information about what that will be like,” Riewald said. “But yes, we will be thinking about how can we, if it does get to that point, take advantage of the fact that the games will be here in the U.S. and structure our preparations appropriately.”
The Games will take place Feb. 6-22, 2026.
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press