More than 40 years after Lake Placid last hosted the Winter Olympics, officials have announced an opportunity to bring a portion of the games back to the North Country. The 2026 Milano-Cortina Organizing Committee for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy has named Lake Placid's Mount Van Hoevenberg as the intended "Plan B" or backup host site for all sliding sports in the upcoming games.

Lake Placid would play host to bobsled, luge and skeleton events for the 2026 Olympics if a track currently being rebuilt in Italy isn’t finished in time for the Milan-Cortina Games, officials said Wednesday.

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.

Lake Placid has been designated as the contingency location for the 2026 Olympic bobsled, luge, and skeleton events if Italy does not complete renovations on its historic track for the Milan-Cortina Games,