Brooklyn Assemblymember Robert Carroll is once again talking Olympics, renewing his push on Monday for a joint New York City–Lake Placid Winter Games bid that would effectively turn the state into a two-stop sports circuit. Under his split-host vision, indoor ice events would unfold in big-city arenas while alpine, sliding and Nordic competitions head north to the Adirondacks.
Carroll says the first step is not a bid but an exploratory committee of roughly 30 to 40 civic and government leaders to see whether the idea holds up financially and logistically. He is pitching it as a sustainability-focused plan that leans heavily on arenas, rinks and tracks that already exist instead of spending billions on new construction. In the rough draft, Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center are on the short list for ice events, while Lake Placid’s Whiteface Mountain and Mount Van Hoevenberg would host the mountain and sliding disciplines. The whole thing borrows from the Milan–Cortina model set to debut at the 2026 Winter Games.
What Carroll Is Pushing
Carroll told CBS New York he plans to travel to Milan to see up close how a two-site Winter Olympics actually runs and to start lining up allies. He argues that a twin-host setup would let New York rely on existing city arenas and Lake Placid’s modernized legacy facilities, cutting down the need for new venues that often become expensive white elephants once the flame is out.
The Op-Ed And The Case For A Joint Bid
Carroll and former Assemblymember Billy Jones laid out their pitch in an op-ed reissued by his office, arguing a joint bid would “minimize disruption, maximize efficiency and set a new standard for responsible Olympic planning.” In that piece, the pair call for an exploratory committee that would bring in residents and civic leaders from across New York State, tasking them with scrutinizing transit, housing and long-term “legacy” investments before anyone even thinks about filing a formal bid. The full argument is republished in a release from the New York State Assembly.
Upstate Support And The Legislative Path
In Albany, the idea is already edging into bill-drafting territory. Republican Sen. Dan Stec has introduced legislation that would create a 13-member commission inside the Olympic Regional Development Authority to study whether Lake Placid and a partner city are viable as co-hosts. According to the New York State Senate, Senate bill S2686 has been sent to committee, where it would need to move forward before any official statewide feasibility review becomes a reality.
Lake Placid's Pitch
Up in the Adirondacks, local boosters are more than happy to remind anyone listening that Lake Placid has been here before. Darcy Norfolk Rowe, communications director for the Olympic Regional Development Authority, told WCAX that recent upgrades and international competitions show the village’s venues are still capable of handling top-tier events. Jones, who has been on board with the concept from the start, has also pressed for convening an exploratory panel to put numbers behind the hometown optimism.
Timeline And Logistics
No one is pretending this could happen overnight. Officials and observers note that the Olympic calendar is already booked out years in advance, making 2042 the earliest realistic window for a New York bid to land. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that, in Carroll’s view, any formal submission would require buy-in from the governor, New York City’s mayor and the mayor of Lake Placid, which is a significant political lift. Gov. Kathy Hochul has privately called the concept “exciting,” according to NBC New York, but interest is not the same as a signed guarantee.
What’s Next
For now, Carroll is emphasizing study over spectacle. Backers say an exploratory committee would have to hash out basic but brutal questions about transportation capacity, hotel space and what to do with any Olympic investments once the athletes leave. Gothamist reports that Carroll plans to treat the Milan–Cortina Games as a kind of field lab for logistics and as a springboard for outreach to civic leaders in both New York City and the Adirondacks, even as urban planners warn that the scale and cost of a two-city Olympics could be a tough sell.
At this stage, the pitch is heavy on politics and light on guarantees. Whether the idea makes it from talking point to official bid will depend on how much time, money and political capital local, state and federal leaders are willing to invest, and on whether communities from Manhattan to Mount Van Hoevenberg believe the Olympic rings would leave a legacy worth the upheaval.
