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Lake Placid is in the running to host the 2023 Winter University Games.
Locking in a third Olympic Games for Lake Placid has long been a goal of regional cheerleaders, who have chased the idea for years.
The Olympics is an indelible part of our collective legacy. But we’ve always rolled our eyes at the prospects for a three-peat.
So much has changed since 1980, and the region is ill-equipped to host a third installment, namely due to the extent to which the Olympic Games have evolved over the past four decades into a global force.
Officials expect to sell 1.17 million tickets to next month’s 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea, and anticipate 100,000 visitors per day, according to USA Today.
The High Peaks, in contrast, struggles to accommodate the influx of hikers during the summertime boom months.
Hosting upwards of one million visitors might be a stretch.
But cheerleaders have thankfully put those Olympic-sized dreams on the backburner, dialing back those ambitions in favor of smaller-scale events that are more attainable.
Lake Placid has been tapped to host both the 2019 International Children’s Games and the 2021 Bobsled and Skeleton World Championships.
The golden ticket is the 2023 World University Games.
The Adirondack North Country Global Sports Committee earlier this month formally submitted a bid for the event.
While projected visitation numbers aren’t in, the World University Games — also known as the FISU Winter Universiade — is smaller than its Olympian counterpart, both in terms of athlete participation and visitation.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has promised state support, and officials from the International University Sports Federation (FISU) will visit Lake Placid to kick the tires at the end of the month.
A decision is expected to be made later this year after local officials venture to Switzerland to make their pitch directly to FISU brass.
Stakeholders have touted the benefits of the hosting the event.
In addition to the feel-good vibes of being back on the global radar, officials have said they aim to use the Winter Universiade as an economic development tool to construct affordable housing and remedy parking problems, two of the biggest infrastructure problems facing the community.
Stakeholders have chipped in about $300,000 for the application, and hosting the event could cost up to $35 million, according to organizers.
While details are still hazy, officials say this number will be offset by athlete fees, ticket sales and television rights, among other revenue streams.
We support the 2023 World University Games — the local economy could use all the help it can get — but critics have also brought up some valid concerns, namely when it comes to accountability, the prospects of drifting costs, taxpayer risks and the overall permanent benefit to the community.
A public meeting is scheduled to be held on Wednesday in Lake Placid, after this edition went to print.
It’s unlikely all of those questions will be answered then, but we can assume this will be the beginning of a long and transparent dialogue between organizers and the community.
It’s important organizers keep the public appraised throughout every step of the process.
And we think the local working class population should benefit more than just a temporary part-time job, or from the shine rubbed off from a brush with the limelight, but rather from long-term effects that will measurably improve their lives.
Affordable housing is a big one. So is creating a market for new businesses that will last long after the final athlete and celebrity has departed.
Organizers should also use this to leverage as much investment for local infrastructure projects as possible to lower the tax burden for local residents.
Measures should also be taken to expand the event’s impact beyond just the High Peaks.
Plattsburgh and Clinton County will stand to benefit as the Plattsburgh International Airport is expected to be the main portal of arrival for a steady stream of visitors, dignitaries, fans and other VIPs.
But organizers should also bring southern Essex and northern Warren counties into the fold, regions that often feel neglected in the shadow of their neighboring tourism superpowers.
Despite the glamour that will come with the Winter Universiade, the region faces innumerable problems, and for many of us, living here is little more than experiencing poverty with a view — to steal a line common amongst rural tourist-driven economies that cater to the affluent.
So as the region marches toward the event of a generation, it should benefit everyone — not just the privileged few.
