Team USA’s Austin Florian competes in the men’s skeleton event during the IBSF World Cup on March 21 at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — Lake Placid is the intended Plan B host site for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games sliding sports if the century-old Italian sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo is not completed by March 2025, according to state Olympic Regional Development Authority Communications Director Darcy Rowe Norfolk.

ORDA has entered a “targeted dialogue” with the 2026 Milano-Cortina Organizing Committee, and will further develop the Plan B back-up plan for the sliding events. Lake Placid will now engage with stakeholders and partners to formalize the bid proposal into a detailed plan.

“So now we’re going to dig in and start to detail out the proposal to formalize a plan, and that will take obviously more dialogue with Milanoo-Cortina, as well as our partners here to further that,” Norfolk said.

This does not guarantee that Lake Placid will host the three sliding sports — bobsled, luge and skeleton — during the upcoming Olympic Winter Games, as work on the Cortina Sliding Centre is progressing rapidly, according to ORDA. The Milanoo Cortina 2026 Organizing Committee is “confident” that the Italian track will be completed on time. However, the Organizing Committee has always stated that it is working in parallel, according to the IOC, to identify a Plan B.

The Associated Press reported last month that the Cortina Sliding Centre is progressing quickly, and begun to take shape.

“The work has accelerated,” government commissioner Fabio Saldini told The Associated Press in November following a visit by International Olympic Committee technicians. “The timeline is being respected.”

Norfolk said they’ve received similar feedback.

“But, the IOC did step in, and wanted to ensure that they had a backup. Because obviously, back then when we proposed, there wasn’t a construction company in place nor had they even started construction,” she said. “The feedback that we are getting from them (now) is that they are progressing rapidly and they’re confident in the work and that it will be completed on time.”

The Milano-Cortina Organizing committee officially signed a contract on Feb. 2 with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C. to rebuild a century-old bobsled track in Cortina d’Ampezzo, which closed in 2008.

The Cortina track still needs to be certified by the IOC in March to be approved for use in the Feb. 6-22, 2026 games. No modern sliding track has been built in such a short timeframe.

The Lake Placid-New York state bid was chosen over two other potential host sites — St. Moritz, Switzerland and Igls/Innbruck, Austria — as Plan B options.

ORDA wasn’t given a specific reason as to what made its bid stand out above the other two candidates, but Norfolk said the Milano-Cortina commitee believed it was excellent and appreciated the time that they put into it.

“I think what this showcases is not only that we do we have a competitive venue, and it’s regarded as fair play and a place where athletes thrive,” she said. “It’s a good location for Olympic events.”

Norfolk pointed to the number of events that Mount Van Hoevenberg has hosted and is planning to host in the future, including the upcoming IBSF Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships in March.

“We execute a number of major events, we expanded contractually with partners and we’re a reliable partner that other organizations can rely on and lean on that actually is versed in hosting events,” she said. “Well, in particular, sliding events.”

While the Plan B site might not need to be activated, Norfolk said it’s still an honor. It showcases what ORDA does and the continued Olympic spirit that resonates here in Lake Placid and the state as a whole.

“For decades, New York State’s commitment to winter sports has kept the Olympic flame burning bright in Lake Placid,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement. “This is a testament to the investment in the legacy that we continue to provide Lake Placid and the Olympic Movement. New York State is honored to be selected, and we will work closely with Fondazione Milanoo Cortina to discuss the planning in a detailed manner to stage the Plan B back up plan.”

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This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

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