New York forms committee to explore joint Winter Olympics bid

New York State is forming an exploratory committee to consider whether Lake Placid and New York City should jointly bid to host a future Winter Olympics, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.

The dual-hosting format mirrors the approach taken by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, which co-hosted the 2026 Winter Olympics earlier this year. "The time is now to return the Olympic flame back to New York," Hochul said in her announcement.

The exploratory committee will examine the feasibility of a joint bid between the two locations. No specific year for a potential Games was mentioned in the announcement, though the 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled for Salt Lake City and Switzerland is the preferred bidder for 2038. That timeline would make 2042 the first likely available slot for New York to host.

Lake Placid has hosted the Winter Olympics twice previously. The upstate community hosted the Games in 1932 and again in 1980, when the U.S. men's ice hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in the gold medal match—an event known as the "Miracle on Ice." Lake Placid also served as an emergency backup venue for sliding sports during this year's Winter Olympics when the primary venue in Cortina faced complications.