By Carly Newton/Press Republican
As the winter Olympics continue in Milan and Cortina, Italy, back on U.S. soil, local officials continue to advocate the games’ return to New York and Lake Placid.
The Olympics were last hosted in Lake Placid in 1980 when the famous Miracle on Ice men’s hockey game took place between the United States and Soviet Union.
Former Assemblymember Billy Jones, now the vice president for Strategic Initiatives and Workforce Development at Clinton Community College, has been the biggest voice in support of the games’ long-awaited return.
Jones, along with his former colleague Robert Carroll, of Brooklyn, previously wrote an opinion piece titled “Bring the Winter Olympics to NYC and Lake Placid” and ran it in newspapers across the state, including the Press-Republican on Dec. 9, 2025.
In that piece, they called for the creation of an exploratory committee to examine the feasibility of hosting the future Winter Olympics jointly in the Lake Placid region and New York City, pointing to this year’s games as proof it can be done.
“We highlighted the upcoming games in Milan and Cortina, (which) successfully united a global metropolitan center with a historic alpine region,” Jones said in a statement this week.
“As the Winter Olympics enters its second week in Italy, and the dual-region model has proven to be successful, the case for exploring a Lake Placid and NYC Olympics partnership should be explored now more than ever. We have been in the brainstorming and conceptual stages of planning this for over two years. This is an idea that has gained traction and support from many NYC, Lake Placid and North Country partners.”
When asked about the possibility of seeing the Winter Olympics return, Assemblymember Michael Cashman (D-Plattsburgh) said last week he supported the idea, adding it would be a wonderful opportunity for the area.
Cashman said realistically, however, it would look and feel different than it did in 1980 if it were to come to fruition.
“But one of the things that it provides is not only national and local pride, it also provides us an opportunity to get infrastructure that is critically needed here in the North Country,” he said.
“The state and the nation would see significant investments here. It would make sure that we’re seeing broadband. It would make sure that we’re seeing other water and wastewater development infrastructure that would be critically needed.
“And don’t forget that it’s not just Lake Placid, it is a partnership with New York City, so it would expand or open the aperture of the games but really leverage the historic investments in Lake Placid and, also, the story of Miracle.”
The earliest the games could return to New York, if the state is chosen as a future location, would be 2038.
Currently, the Winter Olympics are set to be held in the French Alps in 2030 and in Utah in 2034.
“Great ideas take time, just like any nation, and locality that’s looking to host a game. It’s not going to happen next year, there’s a process by which this goes through,” Cashman said.
“I was just down at the Empire State Games, too, (and) Lake Placid has continued that legacy of highlighting some of the best athletes to take the national and international stage.”
