Considering Lake Placid for 2026 Winter Olympics?

The mayor of Quebec City Regis Labeaume has initiated talks for a possible bid of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Now what does this have to do anything with the Adirondacks? Well Quebec City does not have all the necessary infrastructure needed to hold the Winter Olympics. If the Olympics were to be held in Quebec then they would need to built all the necessary facilities, which would end up being very expensive. Now to offset the cost, the mayor came up with a plan. He suggested teaming up with Calgary, Vancouver, and Lake Placid. As we all recall from our latest quiz, Lake Placid hosted the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1980. The Winter Olympics were also held in Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010. This means that Calgary, Vancouver, and Lake Placid have the facilities needed for the Winter Olympics. From our trip we know that Lake Placid has a certified sliding track for bobsled, skeleton, and luge which are facilities that Quebec City does not have. The mayor has recently contacted the mayor of Lake Placid, Craig Randall, to ask if Lake Placid would be interested in joining Quebec City for the bid on the 2026 Winter Olympics. Randal responded “to please keep Lake Placid included in his investigation for possible venue use in an Olympic bid”. Now would is it even possible for Quebec City to hold the Winter Olympics and have some events occur in Lake Placid? Well luckily in 2014 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) changed its rules to allow events to be held outside of the host city or country. Quebec City’s mayor will be meeting with the IOC officials in April to further discuss this.

If events were to be held in Lake Placid, what would this mean for Lake Placid? Obviously the events would bring major tourism back into the village. Maybe the tourists will explore other parts of the Adirondacks and bring in the economy boost it needs. Quebec City and Lake Placid is about a 4 hour drive, so it is not far apart. Stay tuned the host city for 2026 Winter Olympics will be chosen at an IOC conference in 2019.

Look Familiar? Lake Placid Olympic Jumping Complex
source: http://www.whiteface.com/facilities/lake-placid-olympic-jumping-complex

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/quebec-city-s-mayor-proposes-multi-city-olympic-bid-including-calgary-1.2832716

http://www.wcvb.com/news/quebec-city-to-explore-joint-2026-olympic-bid-with-lake-placid/38706612 

http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=http://www.sltrib.com/sports/3708883-155/olympics-lake-placid-may-be-part