Olympic Dream: New York Forms Committee for Future Winter Games

Lake Placid Could Make Another Run

Forty-five plus years after the “Miracle on Ice,” New York leaders are quietly pushing to bring the Winter Olympics back to the Adirondacks.

Considering how large this global event has become, it still feels surreal that the Olympics once took place basically in our backyard, and now sources say Lake Placid could make another run.

I was too young to remember much about the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, but I vividly remember having the official poster hanging on my bedroom wall, and over the years, I've really grown to appreciate how little ol' Upstate NY pulled this off.

New York's dream of bringing the Winter Olympics back to the Empire State just took a major step forward.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday the formation of the Lake Placid-New York City Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games Exploratory Committee, a statewide group that will spend the next year evaluating whether New York could successfully host a future Winter Olympics.

Miracle in Upstate NY?

The idea, which supporters have discussed for several years, would combine Lake Placid's rich Olympic heritage with New York City's unmatched infrastructure and global appeal. While no formal bid has been submitted, state leaders are considering hosting the Games in 2042.

In recent years, New York State has invested more than $750 million to modernize the region's venues, helping secure Lake Placid's role as a backup sliding venue for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games.

NY Governor Hochul — Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Committee in Place to Pursue Official Bid

Governor Hochul says the newly formed committee will spend the next year gathering public input and studying the economic, tourism, and infrastructure impacts before deciding whether New York should pursue an official bid.

For now, the Olympic flame isn't coming back just yet—but New York is taking its biggest step in decades toward making that dream a reality.