The Winter Olympics Maybe Coming Back To New York State

If you ask the average person around the nation what they think when they hear New York, most will think of the hustle and bustle of Manhattan with all of the skyscrapers, traffic, and subway. Rarely do non-New Yorkers think about the fact that the Empire State is a winter wonderland. Luckily for us, we know better, and so do the folks at the International Olympic Committee because one special place in New York may have the worldwide spotlight on it again in 2026.

According to ESPN, the Essex County, New York, village of Lake Placid has been officially selected as a back-up, or plan B, site for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The 2026 Winter Olympics, which is set to host 116 events across 16 sports from February 6, 2026, to February 22, 2026, in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, is on its way to starting in just over a year. However, it seems that construction for some Olympic facilities in Italy is running behind schedule. So much so that IOC officials felt it necessary to come up with a plan b in case things aren't ready by next February.

That Plan B happens to be right in our backyard as Lake Placid, New York, which has hosted two Winter Olympics (1932 and 1980), two Winter World University Games (1972 and 2023), and the 2000 Goodwill Winter Games, has all the necessary facilities to host the bobsled, luge, and skeleton events for if Italy can't get things together.

It seems that current facilities in Italy are more than 100 years old and haven't been used in nearly 2 decades. While it may seem odd that an Olympic event could happen on the other side of the planet from other events, it's not the first time it has happened. This past summer, the Paris Olympic Games held its surfing events in Tahiti, which is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

All of this bodes well for the Empire State, as it's a reminder that we have everything you could need right here in New York.