Is it time to bring the Winter Olympics back to New York?
The Empire State has hosted the Games twice before — in 1932 and 1980. The Winter Olympics were held both times in Lake Placid, which remains to this day an active training ground for Olympians.
With the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics well underway, the conversation about a return to New York has reignited. A state assemblymember is reportedly exploring that very possibility.
Robert Carroll, an assemblymember from Brooklyn, is heading to Italy this week in an effort to learn more about the Winter Olympics. He’s interested in setting up an exploratory committee to look at bringing the Olympics back, this time with a tie-in to New York City, Gothamist first reported.
Did you know New York hosted two Olympics? The third-ever Olympics with winter competitions was held in Lake Placid in 1932 and again in 1980’s Games of the XIII Olympiad. NBC New York’s Linda Gaudino tours Lake Placid’s four legacy sites.
The next opportunity for New York to host the Games is still almost two decades away.
The next few Winter Olympics have already been set; the 2030 Olympics will be in the French Alps; the 2034 Olympics will be back in Salt Lake City; and the 2038 Olympics will likely be in Switzerland, which is in “privileged dialogue” with the International Olympic Committee.
That makes 2042 potentially up for grabs.
Including New York City into a Winter Olympics could involve some complicated logistics, but its distance from Lake Placid wouldn’t be the biggest obstacle. In fact, the distance between the two is nearly identical to the distance between Milan and Cortina.
The official Olympic flag bearers arrive at the Opening Ceremony for the XIII Olympic Winter Games on 14 February 1980 at the Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium, Lake Placid, United States. (Photo by Steve Powell/Allsport/Getty Images)