The Olympic Center is seen here on Dec. 7. From left are the 1980 arena, 1932 arena and Lake Placid Conference Center. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — The historic Olympic Center on Main Street is starting to come back to life, like a giant reawakening after a long sleep, one limb at a time.

Earlier this month, the state Olympic Regional Development Authority began reopening its refurbished Olympic Center facilities and will continue throughout the winter. But the entire $80 million project, which includes the Olympic Speedskating Oval, will not be complete until the second half of next year.

“Number one, they needed the updates to them so that they could remain open for the next 30 to 40 years, plus,” said Terry Buczkowski, general manager of the Olympic Center. “As far as the future, we have every intent of bringing back some large-scale figure skating events, certainly hockey events.”

Anyone driving through the village of Lake Placid this year has seen one construction site after another, not just the Main Street project or the old Hotel Marcy building but the Olympic Center and Olympic Speedskating Oval. Finding parking has been a challenge, as men and women with hard hats going to work every day have taken up many of those spots.

But the construction days are waning. The 1932 Rink in the Olympic Center’s Jack Shea Arena reopened on the evening of Friday, Dec. 3 with free public skating. The oval is expected to open by next weekend so visitors can skate there during the Christmas to New Year’s Day holiday week. The 1980 Rink in the Herb Brooks Arena is expected to open sometime in January. And the link building — connecting the 1932 and 1980 rinks — will be the last to reopen. It looks like a steel skeleton now, but the new home of the Lake Placid Olympic Museum is expected to be open by next fall.

The 1932 Rink is seen here during construction. (Provided photo — ORDA)

For the past several years, the New York state government has given hundreds of millions of dollars to ORDA for its venue upgrades. ORDA manages the Olympic Center, Olympic Jumping Complex, Olympic Sports Complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg, Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington, Gore Mountain Ski Resort in North Creek and the Belleayre Mountain Ski Center in the Catskills.

The big push for venue improvements came in 2018 after Lake Placid was awarded the International University Sports Federation’s 31st Winter Universiade, more commonly known as the FISU 2023 Winter World University Games. For 11 days in January 2023, North Country communities will host 2,500 collegiate athletes and coaches for competitions in Alpine, freestyle and cross-country skiing, biathlon, speedskating, curling, figure skating, hockey, short-track speed skating and snowboarding. Lake Placid last hosted the FISU games in 1972.

For the 2018-19 fiscal year, the state gave ORDA $62.5 million. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at the time that it included “$50 million for a strategic upgrade and modernization plan to support improvements to the Olympic facilities and ski resorts, $10 million for critical maintenance and energy efficiency upgrades, and $2.5 million appropriated from the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation budget as part of the New York Works initiative.” Even more money for ORDA followed in state budgets for 2019 ($80 million), 2020 ($144.5 million) and 2021 ($105 million), much of it earmarked for venue improvements.

Most of Lake Placid’s international sports facilities were either built or refurbished for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. Some, such as the original Olympic Arena, were built for the 1932 Olympic Winter Games. Venue construction from 2019 to 2021 at the Olympic Center, Mount Van Hoevenberg, Olympic Jumping Complex and Whiteface Mountain looked similar to the pre-Olympic construction from 1977 to 1979.

Upgrades at Mount Van Hoevenberg wrapped up last fall. They include a new 30,000-square-foot Mountain Pass Lodge, which features a state-of-the-art practice start ramp for USA Bobsled & Skeleton; a new snowmaking system for the cross-country ski trails; a new Nordic ski stadium and 30-row biathlon shooting range; and the new Cliffside Coaster amusement ride that follows part of the 1980 bobsled run.

Hockey players compete in the Lake Placid arena during the 1932 Olympic Winter Games. (Photo — 1932 Winter Olympics official report)

Upgrades at the Olympic Jumping Complex included a new Skyride Gondola and Sky Flyer Zipline, which opened in the summer of 2020; the installation of refrigerated in-runs on the 90- and 120-meter jumps, which were christened by local skiers in January 2020; and the regrading of both landing hills this past summer.

Upgrades at Mount Van Hoevenberg and the ski jumps have brought these venues up to international standards, meaning they have the ability to host World Cup competitions again.

At the Olympic Center, the upgrades will open up more possibilities for competitions, special events and visitor revenue, and they will extend the life of these “legacy” buildings.

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Conference Center

This is the Lake Placid Conference Center as seen on Dec. 7. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

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Upgrades at the Olympic Center actually began in 2011 with the opening of the new $18 million Lake Placid Conference Center. The building is attached to the 1932 arena and is home to the Lake Placid Visitors Bureau, operated by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism.

The old convention center, which included the Lussi Rink, was torn down to make room for the new building. Promoted as the “Arena Addition,” it cost $960,000 to build and opened in May 1968. Half of the cost was paid by the federal government; the rest was picked up by taxpayers in the North Elba Park District. Prior to the North Elba referendum to spend $480,000 in local money for the building, village Mayor Robert Peacock said the community needed modern and larger meeting rooms for conventions and an additional ice sheet.

“We need extra ice space for our local and area students for hockey and figure skating,” he wrote in the Feb. 9, 1967 issue of the Lake Placid News. “We have needed more Summer ice space for 15 years to accommodate guests of the area.”

The Lussi Rink was renovated prior to the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Speedskating Oval is seen from Cummings Road on Dec. 7. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

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1932 Rink

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After Lake Placid was chosen as the host of the 1932 Olympic Winter Games in April 1929, the local Olympic organizing committee decided it would build an arena for some events. Excavation work was completed and foundation work began in August 1931. The arena was dedicated on Jan. 16, 1932, less than a month before the games began.

In 1924 and 1928, the Olympic figure skating and hockey competitions were held outdoors. Making dependable ice for those events was a challenge, depending on the weather. That changed for the III Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid. The arena hosted the figure skating competitions, curling demonstrations and six of the 12 hockey games during the 1932 games. Four of those hockey games were originally scheduled for the outside hockey box at the Olympic Stadium in front of the school, but they were moved to the arena due to bad ice conditions.

Terry Buczkowski, general manager of the Olympic Center, explains some of the upgrades to the 1980 Rink in early March prior to much of the reconstruction. (News photo — Aaron Cerbone)

“No resort in the world, outside the larger cities, can boast of such a building,” stated the official report for the 1932 Winter Olympics. “Never before had any part of a Winter Olympic program been held under a roof.”

The operative word here being “Winter” Olympics. The 1908 Olympic Games in London, England, hosted figure skating on an indoor rink, and the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium, hosted indoor figure skating and ice hockey competitions.

The 1932 Rink was renovated prior to the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The latest upgrades feature new blue seats (including the balcony side of the arena), lighting, locker room improvements, electrical infrastructure, a new dehumidification system, new concession area and new dasher boards. Plus, sound-absorbing panels have been installed for better acoustics throughout the arena, and the rink can now be converted to either international- or NHL-size standards. And the ice is maintained with an electric Zamboni.

Since Dec. 3, the rink has hosted figure skating, hockey and public skating events, such as the skating party Dec. 10 for the Holiday Village Stroll.

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Speedskating oval

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The first construction project for the 1932 Winter Olympics began in front of the high school on Main Street in December 1929. In order to build the Olympic stadium — which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, speedskating, part of the hockey schedule, sled-dog races (demonstration sport) and the start and finish of the 18-kilometer cross-country ski race — a drainage culvert had to be installed. Outflow from Mirror Lake to the Chubb River still flows diagonally underneath the oval. And, shortly after New Year’s Day 1930, seven buildings had to be removed: dwelling houses, a garage and two old hotels.

“None of these buildings were modern, and tearing them down and utilizing the land as part of the stadium site added greatly to the attractiveness of the village civic center, where the Olympic stadium was to stand,” stated the official report for the 1932 Winter Olympics.

Excavation work for the stadium began on April 7, 1930, and was completed that fall. Before the cold weather set in, the 400-meter speedskating track was laid out, “and everything was put into readiness for flooding and icing this track,” stated the 1932 Winter Olympics report. The track was built of cinders and gravel.

The new 400-meter James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval — including a refrigeration system connected to the new Fieldhouse — was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Construction began in early 1977 and was completed late that fall, in time for the 1978 World Sprint Speed Skating Championships, according to the official report for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Support structures and facilities were built in the spring of 1978, and the entire complex was finished in the fall of 1979.

This year’s reconstruction of the Olympic Speedskating Oval began in the spring, with the contract going out in March. It took a total of four concrete pours, each pour taking a 28-day cure cycle, according to Buczkowski. The final pour was made in mid-November.

The 1980 timing building was razed to make way for a new support building, which will be used for scoring and timing and to house a Zamboni, medical office and restrooms. The oval will also have a skating rental cabin on the plaza and lean-tos installed in the greenspace between the oval and the Main Street fence.

The FISU World University Speedskating Championships will be held here from March 2 to 5, and the oval is expected to be open for public skating by Christmas.

“We certainly want to open it up and share what we’ve done with the community and the public and obviously the visiting guests, and that’s a great time to do it,” Buczkowski said.

The oval will include a new entryway: a grand staircase at the corner of Main Street and Cummings Road. The athletes’ entrance through the tunnel from the Herb Brooks Arena is also being revitalized. And ice making will be more reliable thanks to the new refrigeration plant.

“On the oval, we’ve also laid down a white concrete, so that should extend our season above and beyond the refrigeration increase out there,” Buczkowski said.

The intent is to extend the oval’s skating season, starting earlier and finishing later “as much as possible” than previous years, he added.

Landscaping around the oval will start after this winter, and the overall final completion date is late spring — with the milestone to have high school graduation on the track in June, according to Buczkowski.

“The grass will still be growing on the infield, so they won’t be waling on the infield,” he said.

Hosting events on the oval isn’t out of the question, according to Buczkowski. The Ironman Lake Placid triathlon, for example, has traditionally used the space for its bike transition and finish line, and the Lake Placid Marathon and Half has used it for its finish line. I Love BBQ and Music Festival officials may move their event permanently from the oval to the North Elba Show Grounds, where it was held this year.

“We will be a lot more specific on what can and can’t be done and where it can and cannot be done, but in a nutshell, yes, the other events — with proper guidance and proper paperwork — we will be able to have events out on the oval as well, between us and the school,” Buczkowski said.

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1980 Rink, link building

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Construction on the 1980 Olympic Fieldhouse began in the spring of 1977, and it was completed in time for the Norton International Figure Skating Competition in September 1979.

“The Olympic Center is, by far, the most imposing of the 14 separate construction projects that were carried out for the XIII Olympic Winter Games,” stated the official report for the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The $16.2 million project included building the 1980 and USA rinks in the Fieldhouse and renovations to the 1932 arena and Lussi Rink.

“The buildings interconnect, making the Olympic Center the only facility in the country to have two international-sized rinks, a United States-size rink and a practice rink, all under one roof,” stated the 1980 Winter Olympics report.

What is now known as the “link building” was simply called the “entrance” to the Olympic Center in the 1980 architectural drawings. And that’s what it will remain after the current renovations are complete.

“From that lobby is where you will enter both the museum and our retail space on the first floor,” Buczkowski said.

The retail store is the first thing visitors will see off the Olympic Center plaza, with a storefront in the drive-through area.

“Next to that will be our grand entrance into our lobby area,” Buczkowski said. “And it will truly be a lobby area rather than just a small entryway with some signs.”

The lobby will include a new staircase, glass elevator and reception area.

On the second floor will be a restaurant with a deck on the front, the entrance to 1980 Rink and a hallway to the 1932 Rink.

“Pretty much, the entire 1980 Rink has been touched, other than the ice surface itself,” Buczkowski said.

A new state-of-the-art refrigeration plant was installed, adding about 30% more capacity. New dasher boards and glass were put in. The seating has been replaced, improvements have been made to the concessions and concourse areas, and locker rooms have been updated.

“The officials rooms, production room, anti-doping room down off of the 1980 Rink, all that is new and improved,” Buczkowski said.

One goal is to maintain the historic integrity of this facility. In 2005, it was renamed the Herb Brooks Arena after the coach of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, which won the gold-medal game against Finland after beating the Soviet Union in the “Miracle on Ice” game.

“Obviously, there are some modernizations that needed to be done, but at the backbone, it’s still the 1980 Rink,” Buczkowski said. “It will always be the 1980 Rink, where miracles happened and continue to happen. Likewise in the 1932 Rink, the historical significance that took place back there in the day, we’ve kept that intact.”

Improvements in the 1980 Rink also include new LED “NHL-level lighting” and the installation of new boards that can shrink the size of the rink to accommodate National Hockey League games. The 1980 and 1932 rinks were built to international standards, meaning that Olympic hockey games are played on an ice sheet roughly 200 feet in length and 100 feet in width. NHL ice sheets are 200 by 85 feet.

With the ability to shrink the ice by 15 feet — 7.5 feet on each side — the Olympic Center can now attract NHL teams for pre-season practice camps and games like it has in the past.

“Our intent is to be able to have more professional hockey events,” Buczkowski said.

All through the construction, the USA Rink has been open for figure skating and hockey. A temporary refrigeration plant was placed outside the building to make sure the ice sheet stayed open.

“We basically kept rocking and rolling with the ice availability for skating and for hockey,” Buczkowski said.

Soon, the Olympic Center will be abuzz with activity again. That will include youth and adult tournaments with Canadian Hockey Enterprises and CAN/AM Hockey, and the ECAC Hockey Men’s Championship, to be held in the 1980 Rink on March 18 and 19. Plus, ORDA officials may be looking into hosting more entertainment events, such as concerts, as it has in the past.

“We’re truly on the verge of becoming an entertainment venue again,” Buczkowski said.

Here is a photo of the Olympic Center’s 1980 Rink during its reconstruction in 2021. (Provided photo — ORDA)

The Olympic Center’s link building is seen here in the summer of 2019. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

The Olympic Center’s link building is seen here on Dec. 7. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

This is an image of what the Olympic Center entrance will look like after construction. (Artwork provided)

This is an image of what the Olympic Center lobby will look like after construction. (Artwork provided)