The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly insisted that an existing ice sliding venue outside Italy must be picked to avoid extra spending on construction. Options include nearby tracks at St. Moritz, Switzerland and Igls, Austria.

Italian government and organizing officials of the Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo Olympics have wanted to keep events at home by renovating one of two disused tracks. They are previous Olympic venues in Cortina and Cesana, which were used for the Winter Games in 1956 and 2006, respectively.

“Our position is unequivocal,” the IOC’s director of Olympic Games Christophe Dubi said Jan. 18 at a briefing in South Korea, setting a Jan. 31 target for a decision.

“We from the very beginning felt that this venue was extremely complex in terms of cost, in terms of legacy, in terms of timing,” Dubi said of the options in Italy. “We have promoted the use of an existing track.”

The IOC is sensitive about spiraling costs and potential white elephant projects, so encourages local organizers to use venues in other countries.

The next Winter Games are being held across northern Italy from Feb. 6 to 22, 2026. The IOC executive board was meeting in Gangneung, South Korea on the sidelines of the 2024 Youth Winter Games.

New York state and U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee officials are hoping to partner with New York City to host the sliding events for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. On Dec. 1, the USOPC submitted the state’s bid for Lake Placid to host the sliding competitions.

USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland called a possible partnership with Lake Placid, New York City and Milano-Cortina an “unforgettable and culturally rich location for sliding sports.”

“The USOPC stands firmly behind this bid effort and believes that their proposal presents a compelling solution to host an extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic experience,” she said. “We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate and support the effort to bring these prestigious events to the United States and are eager to understand the decision by Milano-Cortina.”

If the bid is accepted, the 2026 Games would be the first in Winter Olympic history to have events held outside the host nation.

In November, National Olympic Committees around the world were encouraged to submit bids to host the 2026 sliding events on existing tracks. Given that Lake Placid’s combined state-of-the-art track is only 24 years old — and that it is still being used for World Cup events — state Olympic Regional Development Authority officials wrote a 50-page bid to host the 2026 Olympic sliding events at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

The state recently spent millions of dollars updating the facilities at Mount Van Hoevenberg, including the construction of the Mountain Pass Lodge, which has a start facility for bobsled and skeleton. ORDA operates the venue. USA Luge also has a new start facility at its renovated headquarters on Church Street in Lake Placid.

The 2026 Sliding Center Bid includes a Nov. 29 letter from Gov. Kathy Hochul to USPOC leaders officially submitting the bid.

“New York’s storied Olympic history — kept alive through significant investments in ORDA’s world-class facilities and a steady stream of high-caliber competitions in Lake Placid — provides a ready and proven solution for the sliding sports in 2026,” Hochul wrote. “The State of New York and Lake Placid are seasoned in hosting international events. Since hosting its first Winter Olympics Games in 1932, Lake Placid has been a stage for the world’s elite sporting events. The international appeal and world-class events continue today with hundreds of championships and competitions including the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games Winter this past January.”

Lake Placid also hosted the 1980 Winter Olympics and the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games. The current sliding track was built for the 2000 Games.