$147 Million Proposed for ORDA Upgrades

https://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/local-news/2020/01/governor-proposes-147m-more-for-olympic-venue-upgrades/

LAKE PLACID — Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in his budget address Tuesday, proposed $147 million in new capital funding for the state Olympic Regional Development Authority to keep upgrading winter sports venues.
The proposed investment came as part of his 2020-21 Executive Budget proposal, and if approved by lawmakers, would represent an 83% bump in funding for the authority from the $80 million approved as part of this year’s state budget. The year before, ORDA got $60 million, so this new amount would total more capital funding than the last two years combined.
“Such improvements will not only serve to attract more visitors to these destinations, but also well-position Lake Placid to host the coveted 2023 World University Games,” a budget book from the governor’s office reads.
Cuomo’s proposal breaks down to $134.5 million for “a strategic upgrade and modernization plan to support improvements to the Olympic facilities and ski resorts,” according to the budget book, plus $10 million for “critical maintenance and energy efficiency upgrades,” and $2.5 million from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
The booklet from the governor’s office does not elaborate on what projects, specifically, the funding is for. It does say that the money would be used to modernize facilities not only in the Lake Placid area, but also at the ORDA-managed Gore and Belleayre Mountain ski areas in the Adirondack hamlet of North Creek and the Catskills hamlet of Highmount, respectively.
The framework for a new base lodge at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex is seen Christmas Day. (Enterprise photo — Elizabeth Izzo)
ORDA, asked for a response from CEO Michael Pratt to the governor’s announcement and asked for specifics on what the funding would be used for, directed all questions to the state Division of the Budget.
North Elba town Supervisor Jay Rand called the governor’s proposal “good news.”
“It’s a fantastic investment by the state,” he said. “The venues are so critical to our entire North Country way of life. From an economic standpoint, they draw a lot of people here, as well as athletes.”
Rand said the investment would contribute to “sustaining our legacy here, as well as our way of life.
Jim McKenna, CEO of the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, likened the last few years of state investment into Lake Placid to that during the leadup to the 1980 Olympic Winter Games.
A rendering shows two people riding a future mountain coaster the state plans to build at Mount Van Hoevenberg. (Image provided by New York state)
“I think it’s significant,” he said. “The momentum created in the late ’70s in the buildup to the ’80 Olympics was very similar. It was the type of momentum happening during that time that’s happening now. And the end result won’t just be more international sporting events; it will drive private investments.
“It’s a domino effect.”
ORDA is already deep in the middle of upgrading venues, including some that hadn’t seen much investment since the 1980 Winter Olympics. In recent years it gave a makeover to the Base Lodge at Whiteface Mountain Ski Center in Wilmington, and in 2019, it overhauled the 1980 Winter Olympic ski jumps and finished a replacement of the elevator inside to the Whiteface Mountain summit from the top of the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway. It also began a much bigger series of projects at the Olympic Sports Complex at Mount Van Hoevenberg, including a new base lodge, mountain coaster, Nordic ski trails, ski stadium, biathlon shooting range and pond for snowmaking. The expected cost is in the tens of millions of dollars.
Soon it plans to begun an overhaul of the Olympic Center skating rink complex that it has projected will cost $100 million.
Lake Placid’s Jack Lawrence speeds down the tracks on the 90-meter hill Jan. 9 at the renovated Olympic Ski Jumping Complex. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)
A new, $2.9 million SkyRide gondola system at the Olympic ski jumps in Lake Placid is seen Jan. 9. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

How absurd

I'm not a fan for multiple reasons

A mountain coaster?  Really?

I can't wait to get out of this state.

Boy, he sure likes Lake Placid, for a non skier.

Gotta keep those Lake Placid beds filled year around.

I like it. Hey the state built it for the Olympics they are doing the smart thing maintaining it. Every one of you have come and enjoyed the venues. What would you guys suggest let them run themselves into the ground and have a great Adirondack ghost town.

tjf1967 wrote

I like it. Hey the state built it for the Olympics they are doing the smart thing maintaining it. Every one of you have come and enjoyed the venues. What would you guys suggest let them run themselves into the ground and have a great Adirondack ghost town.

You mean like North Creek? He needs to share the wealth.

x10003q wrote

tjf1967 wrote

I like it. Hey the state built it for the Olympics they are doing the smart thing maintaining it. Every one of you have come and enjoyed the venues. What would you guys suggest let them run themselves into the ground and have a great Adirondack ghost town.

You mean like North Creek? He needs to share the wealth.

Exactly.
Must be the Gov doesn't have any buddy's that live in NC

Hey, I’m all for spreading the economic development wealth in general, but in this case, as TJ pointed out, Lake Placid and North Creek are apples and oranges, aren’t they?

The State invested hundreds of millions (inflation adjusted) of dollars, on top of more than a half a billion (inflation adjusted) Federal dollars, on World class Olympic venues.  Those venues remain a viable resource today, but not without investment to keep them from falling into disrepair and becoming obsolete.  That’s what the money here will be going to, not really the town of Lake Placid itself, although the town will benefit from the continued tourism those venues draw.

North Creek has no such facilities, right?  Some of the money will go to the venue that North Creek does have (Gore).

What North Creek needs is private, commercial development, on top of what little economic development money they (and other North Country towns) get from the State.  I don’t do family weekends at Gore.  Not because Gore isn’t great, or because the State hasn’t invested in the ORDA asset....but because there are no hotels or resorts my wife would want to spend time at, and the town doesn’t have much to offer.  You can’t expect the State to fix that, can you, especially with dollars earmarked for ORDA facilities?

Wow.  A few thoughts:

1.  How does this stack up with competing priorities?  For example, in the Courts (where 80m would actually make a difference unlike many state budget line items), most state judges make less than first-year lawyers at large law firms.  

2.  It makes sense to maintain facilities that have costs sunk into them.  And I am sure this is important to the local economies.

3.  I tend to support appropriate state (i.e. the state, read - government) initiatives, but how well does the state run the three areas?  At Belle, they seem to be getting money from cap improvements, but it is literally getting to the point where volunteer ski patrollers are getting cut because management (for whatever reason) is not in a position that they prioritize paying for the insurance associated with said volunteer patrollers.  

4.  Can they spare a few nickels for Belleayre?  Self-interested joke.  We may be graduating to Gore within the next few years, especially if I ever get a Rivian and it can drive me there.  : )

JTG4eva! wrote

I don’t do family weekends at Gore.  Not because Gore isn’t great, or because the State hasn’t invested in the ORDA asset....but because there are no hotels or resorts my wife would want to spend time at, and the town doesn’t have much to offer.  You can’t expect the State to fix that, can you, especially with dollars earmarked for ORDA facilities?

I hear you on that, but on the other hand the lack of luxury lodging is why you're never waiting more than 5 minutes for a lift on a busy weekend.   I went to Tremblant over the holiday break and my wife loved it for all the off mountain amenities, but It's too crowded, i wouldn't want that place to be my home mountain.

Someone bought and is redoing the Copperfield.  Perhaps it will be a little more modern and they will put in a hot tub.  Could be a good option for a 2 or 3 day weekend

JTG4eva! wrote

Not because Gore isn’t great, or because the State hasn’t invested in the ORDA asset....but because there are no hotels or resorts my wife would want to spend time at, and the town doesn’t have much to offer.  

Maybe renovate your wife?

DomB wrote

Wow.  A few thoughts:

1.  How does this stack up with competing priorities?  For example, in the Courts (where 80m would actually make a difference unlike many state budget line items), most state judges make less than first-year lawyers at large law firms.  

I hear you on this.  The question of whether the State should invest $147m in ORDA facilities when there are glaring State needs elsewhere is certainly valid.  

Of course, accepting that the dollars are earmarked, it’s an entirely different discussion from how that money should be divied up between WF/Placid and Gore/North Creek, and the stepchild (Belle).

Just look at the artists rendition. Is that truly what they want LP to look like? What a fugazi.

witch hobble wrote

JTG4eva! wrote

Not because Gore isn’t great, or because the State hasn’t invested in the ORDA asset....but because there are no hotels or resorts my wife would want to spend time at, and the town doesn’t have much to offer.  

Maybe renovate your wife?

Ha!  Happy wife, happy life, as they say.  That, and anymore I’d have to renovate myself.  I’m getting fricken old.  Even when I ski hard I’m quality over quantity these days, and have no problem taking a break for a nice lunch.  That, and I enjoy a post ski soak in a hot tub more than anyone, and I’m not above getting a massage once in a while.  Gore has the skiing goods (when the conditions are right), but beyond that Gore/North Creek has a hard time keeping me happy, too!

I guess if you want to keep Placid as a late 70s time capsule sure, that rendering is fugazi.  To me it looks like the current entrance to the arena with a minor, modern facelift, not really anything dramatic.

JTG4eva! wrote

I guess if you want to keep Placid as a late 70s time capsule sure, that rendering is fugazi.  To me it looks like the current entrance to the arena with a minor, modern facelift, not really anything dramatic.

Damn the voice of reason!

Yeah kinda,  when was the last time the Olympics were there I can remember off the top of my head.

It's becoming increasingly difficult for IOC to find cities to host the Winter games.  Perhaps Cuomo has a vision for 2026