A venue in Cortina might not be ready.
Lake Placid, New York could be back hosting events during the Winter Olympics. There seems to be a problem with the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton venue for the planned 2026 Milan-Cortina, Italy Winter Games and Lake Placid is warming up in the bullpen in the event Cortina backers need a reliever. Financing problems delayed the venue construction. The 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics organizers think the venue will be ready for the February 6th, 2026 opening ceremonies but if there is a need for an alternate venue, there is Lake Placid which is about 3,700 miles west of Cortina. New York State recently spent $200 million in an attempt to make Lake Placid a winter sports destination.
The Cortina organizers put out a statement. “Lake Placid is our official plan B. But only in the event that we can’t go to Cortina, a situation that has been ruled out by the reassuring information that continues to come in on the progress of the work.” Lake Placid was chosen as a super-sub ahead of St. Moritz, Switzerland and Innsbruck, Austria. Lake Placid hosted two Winter Olympics in 1932 and in 1980. The 1932 Winter Olympics was a money loser for Lake Placid. The legacy of Lake Placid rests solely on the 1980 American hockey team’s win over the Soviet Union and advancing to play in the Gold Medal contest. The Americans defeated Finland for the gold medal. The first ever chant of USA USA took place during the 1980 Lake Placid games. But the town could not afford the 1980 money losing event and something happened to the Lake Placid Olympic Village along the way. It was converted into a different use and most people really don’t want to visit the still standing structure. The Olympic Village is now a federal prison.
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