Legacies of Lake Placid Games still delivering after 27 years

Apr 30, 2007

Volume One of Legacies of North American Winter Games report released today

The first volume of a report commissioned by the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) shows the legacies of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games are still a powerful contributor to the community 27 years after the Closing Ceremony.

The Lake Placid report, which was released today at vancouver2010.com, is the first of three volumes of the Legacies of North American Olympic Winter Games report commissioned by VANOC. The remaining two volumes of the report will be released over the next month continuing with the Calgary report on May 7, and the Salt Lake report on May 14.

The Lake Placid report is based on research obtained from many documents including newspaper and magazine articles, official reports, studies, books, and original interviews to outline the legacies to the host community of the 1980 Games. Key among the findings are a number of impressive economic and sport legacies including the following:

• In the 2004–05 fiscal year, 25 years after the Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games, the overall economic impact of the Olympic Regional Development Authority’s (ORDA) operations to the village and surrounding counties was $323.7 million USD.
• In 2004, an estimated 333,535 non-resident visitors used ORDA facilities. The direct impact of visitor spending on the local economy that year was more than $310 million USD, resulting in 1,056.6 jobs.
• Almost 90 per cent of the U.S. Olympic Team members at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games had gone through training in Lake Placid at some time during their sports careers.
• Lake Placid hosts an average of five World Cups every year, in addition to numerous other competitions.
• 33 of the 34 medals awarded to the U.S. Olympic Team at the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games were won by athletes who trained in Lake Placid.

“As a community that has twice hosted the Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid continues to enjoy human and economic benefits and lasting legacies,” said VANOC CEO John Furlong. “We are encouraged by the findings of this report and excited about the opportunities the Games present for future generations. Clearly, the Games have the potential of producing so much more than two months of stellar sport performance,” he concluded.

“The State of New York was honoured to host the world at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, and we continue to welcome visitors from around the world to the Lake Placid region today,” said Sandy Caligiore, Communications Director for the State’s Olympic Regional Development Authority. “The positive economic and social impact of the Games is very real and very alive to this day,” he added.

VANOC commissioned the Legacies of North American Winter Games report believing the most appropriate model for understanding the potential legacies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games is the experiences of other Winter Games held within the North American context since 1980. The independently-written reports offer detailed look back on the experiences of previous North American Olympic Winter Games hosts.

The Legacies reports, separately and combined, show how the host communities of Olympic Winter Games in North America continue to:

• increase tourism in their regions
• remind the world of their attractions at subsequent international competition
• build sports participation
• be national hubs for recreational and competitive sport
• help the country’s top athletes achieve their full potential
• attract major sports companies to locate there
• encourage local children to excel in sport and other areas of life

“The report shows that, on a continent where enthusiasm for and participation in winter sports is widespread, hosting a successful Winter Games can have numerous, multi-faceted benefits, many of which last for generations to come,” said Furlong.

“VANOC is determined to continue this trend, delivering an outstanding Games experience in 2010 and legacies that will continue to benefit the community for many generations to come,” he concluded.

About VANOC

VANOC is responsible for the planning, organizing, financing and staging of the XXI Olympic Winter Games and the X Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games will be staged in Vancouver and Whistler from February 12 to 28, 2010. Vancouver and Whistler will host the Paralympic Winter Games from March 12 to 21, 2010.

About the Lasting Legacies Report and Author

VANOC commissioned the research and writing of The Legacies of North American Olympic Winter Games report in July 2006. The researcher and author, Kate Zimmerman, has been a journalist in Canada for 27 years, writing for numerous newspapers and magazines. She lives in North Vancouver, BC.

Contact

VANOC Communications
mediarelations@vancouver2010.com