Olympic Center

The Olympic Center is a sports complex in Lake Placid, New York that acted as the Olympic Park for both the 1932 and the 1980 Winter Olympics.[1][2] It will be the main venue of the 2023 Winter Universiade.

Olympic Center
1980 rink during the opening ceremony of the 2020 Empire State Winter Games
Olympic Center
Location within the contiguous United States and New York
Olympic Center
Olympic Center (New York)
Former namesOlympic Hockey Arena
Address2634 Main Street
Lake Placid, NY 12946
Coordinates44.2832°N 73.9856°W / 44.2832; -73.9856
Elevation540 metres (1,770 ft)
OwnerNew York State Olympic Regional Development Authority
TypeSports complex
Genre(s)Winter sporting events
Construction
Broke groundAugust 1931 (1931-08)
OpenedJanuary 16, 1932 (1932-01-16)
Construction cost$225,000
Website
lakeplacidolympicsites.com/olympic-sites/olympic-center/

Venues

Current
  • Conference Center at Lake Placid -With 90,000 sq ft of flexible meeting space, this convention center was opened in May 2011. It is directly connected to the Jack Shea Arena and the Herb Brooks Arena. Among other features, it is handicapped accessible, has a full-service production kitchen, state-of-the-art lighting systems, stages along with backstage dressing rooms and storage space, loading docks, and a 9,000-square-foot ballroom.[3][4]
  • Herb Brooks Arena -Built for the 1980 Winter Olympics, this venue was formerly known as the Olympic Center arena.[1][2]
  • Jack Shea Arena -Built for the 1932 Winter Olympics, Jack Shea Arena, also known as the 1932 Rink, was the first indoor arena used for the Winter Olympics. For the 1932 Games, it hosted the figure skating competition and six of the twelve ice hockey games.[1][2]
  • James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink -Build for the 1932 Olympics, this outdoor speed skating oval hosted the 1932 and 1980 Olympic speed skating competitions and served as the Olympic Stadium of the 1932 games, and hosted the opening ceremonies of that games. It also hosted other events during the 1932 games, such as Ice hockey and Cross-country skiing.[1][2]
  • USA Rink -One of three ice surfaces at the Olympic Center, this rink was built for the 1980 Winter Olympics.[2]

Other Facilities
  • Lake Placid Middle/High School -Located in the heart of the Olympic Center, the school building was utilized in both 1932 and 1980 for the Winter Olympic Games. In 1932 its classrooms and other spaces were used as dressing-rooms for athletes competing in the Olympic Center. In 1980 it served as the main press center.[1][2]
  • Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum -Opened in 1994, the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum is a museum dedicated to the Winter Olympics. It is the only Olympic museum in North America. and is a part of the work of New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority in the Lake Placid Olympic Region. The museum receives between 25,000 and 35,000 visitors annually.[5][6][7][8]

Former
  • Lake Placid Convention Center [2]
    • Lussi Ice Rink -The Lussi Ice Rink was a practice rink and convention space within the former Lake Placid Convention Center. The rink was built for the 1980 games.[2][9]
  • Olympic ticket center -A building was constructed at the Olympic Center along Main Street between the arenas and the speed skating oval to house ticket sales for the 1980 games.[10] It is now a retail space housing a local business.[11]
  • North Elba Town Hall -North Elba's town hall, located directly across from the Olympic Center, temporarily acted as a part of the campus during the 1932 games, housing the Olympic headquarters. It again acted as part of the campus during the 1980 Olympics when it served as the headquarters for both scoring systems and the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee.[1][2]

Use

Annual Events
Multi-Sport Competitions
Curling
Figure Skating
Ice Hockey
Future Events
Speed Skating

Training

The venues in the complex have been used as training centers for United States Olympic athletes.

Dorothy Hamill trained in the 1932 Arena prior to her gold medal performance at the 1976 Winter Olympics.[14]

See also

References
  1. 1932 Winter Olympics official report. pp. 141-4. Accessed 12 October 2010.
  2. 1980 Winter Olympics official report. Volume 1. pp. 36-9. Accessed 16 November 2010. (in English and French)
  3. "First Conference Attendees Love Our New Facility!". http://www.lakeplacid.com. May 10, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  4. "Lake Placid/Essex County Convention & Visitors Bureau Conference Center at Lake Placid".
  5. Associates Press (2007-02-11). "Lake Placid Commemorates Its Jump into the Olympics". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  6. Mary Mcaleer Vizard (1994-10-16). "There's Change in the Air for the Alpine Lake Placid". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  7. Mimi Wacholder (2005). "25th Anniversary of the Winter Games". Adirodack Sports & Fitness. Archived from the original on 2005-02-06. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  8. "Legacies of North American Olympic Winter Games" (PDF). Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. 2007-04-30. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 14, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  9. "Olympic Sponsorship". www.orda.org. Olympic Region Corporate Sponsorship. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
  10. 1980OlympicReport
  11. "There & Back Again". www.lakeplacid.com. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  12. 2008 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships Archived 2010-12-25 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games Official Report part one Volume 1. pages 1-222. Accessed Jan 17, 2014 (in English and French)
  14. produced by Marlu & Associates (1979). Countdown to the 1980 Winter Olympics (commercial film). USA: AT&T Bell Systems. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
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