$147 Million Proposed for ORDA Upgrades

JTG4eva! wrote

I also think the “ghost town” comment may have had less to do with what LP would have been had the State/Feds not pumped money into the Olympics back in the 70s (i.e still an integral part of the Tri-Lakes region but something closer to the town of Tupper Lake economically speaking, with higher unemployment and poverty rates?).......than with what LP would become if all the infrastructure and facilities that were put in place for the Olympics were left to rot, became obsolete, and were no longer used.

Well, maybe the problem is millions and millions invested in highly temporary sites using public money to establish an infrastructure for profit making and corrupt international organizations , like the IOC. Let's start there. But, the argument to keep these places alive and nice looking afterwards with even more public money is obviously flawed.
Let the IOC settle on permanent Olympic sites. But, that will never happen.

Benny Profane wrote

Let the IOC settle on permanent Olympic sites. But, that will never happen.

What, you got a problem with this?

Jamesdeluxe wrote

Benny Profane wrote

Let the IOC settle on permanent Olympic sites. But, that will never happen.

What, you got a problem with this?

Holy shit!

Seems like a massive waste of money

Z wrote

I love the idea of bringing Tupper back.  I’ve always felt it got killed once the Gondis went in at WF and Gore

My guess is $20m and becoming part of the Orda pass would bring it back in a big way.  

It would help Tupper tremendously and also impact SL

Clarkson and StL could move their training there and save a lot of driving

It also has more green and blue terrain which would benefit Orda since WF is really not that well suited to the low intermediate skier market

Z, Spot on. Although I think $10M would be plenty to get it back easily.  I think that the low cost non holiday pass that WF started offering in the late 90s had more effect on Big Tupper than the Gondis.
In addition to Clarkson and SLU, throw in Paul Smiths with their food service etc, seems like Big Tupper would be a perfect fit for them.

I think most of us wold love to see Big Tipper make a comeback. That place was always fun.

Now you are off on a tangent.  Are you saying the State should let all the facilities just become eyesores blots on the ADK's?  You know what they are doing makes sense.

It would be perfect for the 1250 people that it would benefit.  When Tupper Lake was viable there were a lot more people living in that neck of the woods.  Talk about money taking care of the few.

Sure we all would but that's not reality, they should reinvent themselves as a place people go there to ski and be part of the natural terrain, skin, self powered skiing.  They don't get a ton of snow but it is cold.  They have snow now.  You could ski it if you were careful.

I think most of us agree the government is not very efficient.  They seem to waste money at every corner, and we know its going to happen.  If that is the case I am happy when I see them waste money into areas of my enjoyment.  If you don't enjoy outdoor sports then I can understand why you may be upset.  
Yeah it could be spent in other places that I think would be more effective to the mountain but I am not the one with the authority to write the check and they are not changing their minds.  So I take it with the hope they write a check another year to bring it up to a world class skiing experience.  

I guess what bothers me the most is that it reeks of payola.

I hope they use local contractors and not major groups out of the city.

There lies another problem.  They wont be able to find the skilled contractors.  How bout they are Union shops from NYS.  I am OK with that.  

tjf1967 wrote

If that is the case I am happy when I see them waste money into areas of my enjoyment.  If you don't enjoy outdoor sports then I can understand why you may be upset.  

Upstate New York is almost entirely funded and supported by downstate counties and adjacent commuter counties in NJ and CT.  One could argue that spending my tax dollars to maintain infrastructure in places like Jamestown benefits only a select few people who live there, and certainly not me.  If my money is going upstate I'd like at least some of it spent on recreational facilities that I enjoy using.

Do you pay NY State income taxes?

I guess I don't know what you point is?  Don't fix up the aging facilities?

Yes I pay NYS income tax, and my point is upstaters live off of downstater tax dollars.  Some of it should be spent to fix up facilities that downstaters actually use.

You are correct without NYC the ADK's would be unable to pay for those things themselves.   But back to what to do with the aging facilities.  You are against updating them?

endoftheline wrote

Z, Spot on. Although I think $10M would be plenty to get it back easily.  I think that the low cost non holiday pass that WF started offering in the late 90s had more effect on Big Tupper than the Gondis.
In addition to Clarkson and SLU, throw in Paul Smiths with their food service etc, seems like Big Tupper would be a perfect fit for them.

Yeah, they already tried this. BT went BANKRUPT in 1992. It has zero to do with WF. It has everything to do with location, non-compelling skiing, 650 foot vertical, and 90" of natural snow per year.

After you flush $10 million, what is your plan to keep it operating? Where is the money going to come from? There will never be enough visits to support the place.

tjf1967 wrote

There lies another problem.  They wont be able to find the skilled contractors.  How bout they are Union shops from NYS.  I am OK with that.

Sure I'd be Ok with that.

 Id like to see them get as local as possible. Platsburgh, Cuse, Albany, etc etc

Keep materials as local as well.

 I just don't trust the guy writing the checks.

x10003q wrote

 

After you flush $10 million, what is your plan to keep it operating? Where is the money going to come from? There will never be enough visits to support the place.

Build a 50 million dollar hotel, go bankrupt again, then sell it for 7 million.

Worked in Virgil NY so why not Tupper

Fugazi I say, Fugazi!!

Upstate NY would be Vermont without downstate dollars. Much more dirt roads, certainly no state run ski hills.

I will admit that I always enjoy the thousands of miles of well maintained paved roads near Saratoga and west towards the finger lakes. As some guy I was riding with said as we turned the corner in the country near Saratoga and saw a fresh ribbon of asphalt stretching off into the distance, "Thank you, Joe Bruno." He said that a lot.