Brooklyn, NY – Governor Kathy Hochul has named Assemblymember Robert Carroll to the leadership committee of the Lake Placid-New York City Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Exploratory Committee, the panel she formed this week to study whether New York City and Lake Placid could jointly host a coordinated Winter Olympics centered on existing venues, sustainability, fiscal responsibility, and community engagement, which could support the State's broader economic, tourism, infrastructure, and regional development goals.

To mark the moment, his office today released a new video laying out why the two ends of New York belong at the center of the Olympic movement. Watch the video here.

Carroll’s appointment marks a milestone in an effort Carroll has championed for years. Since 2022, he has worked to build support for a New York Winter Olympic bid through legislation, policy proposals, meetings with Olympic stakeholders, a comprehensive white paper, and published op-eds outlining how New York could host a sustainable and financially responsible Games by pairing the world’s greatest city with America’s most iconic Winter Olympic town. In February, Carroll went to the Milan - Cortina Games to see how the joint model works in action.

“Forty-five years after the Miracle on Ice, it's time for another miracle in New York. I grew up in Brooklyn, and my family has long kept a home in the Adirondacks, so I have spent my life crossing the line that divides this state. If the committee determines a bid is viable, it offers a chance to bring two parts of our great state together. New Yorkers downstate will have the best reason to visit upstate, and those upstate will finally be treated as a partner by the City. When we are all pulling for Team USA, the old rivalries fall away. I am so grateful to Governor Hochul for her leadership, and for the chance to help study what it would take to bring the Olympics back to New York. We may yet decide the Games are not for us, but the act of asking, of getting both halves of our state into one room, is worth it whatever we choose,” said Assemblymember Robert Carroll.

The Exploratory Committee’s process will take place over approximately one year. It does not equate to a formal Olympic or Paralympic bid. The Committee's findings and recommendations will be reviewed by State leadership which will evaluate the findings and determine future action.

The dual city model was proven this year, and New York can do it better. The 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina, which closed in February, were the most spread-out in Olympic history, stretched across roughly 22,000 square kilometers and eight locations, with marquee venues sitting hours apart by road. They still showed the world that a global city and a historic mountain town can stage a Games together across real distance. 

New York begins the conversation with unique advantages in both New York City and Lake Placid.

New York City

World class arenas: From Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center to Citi Field and Yankee Stadium, New York already possesses the high-capacity venues needed to host virtually all indoor Olympic ice events without pouring new concrete. Existing facilities could accommodate hockey, figure skating, short track speed skating, curling, ceremonies, and other indoor competitions. Outdoor stadiums and public spaces could also be reimagined for spectacular freestyle skiing and snowboarding events, including Big Air, aerials, and halfpipe competitions set against iconic New York backdrops, creating some of the most memorable images in Olympic history while maximizing the use of existing infrastructure. 

Hotels: As a global city, New York has large-scale hotel infrastructure with options across the five boroughs. This makes the City ready to easily accommodate the spectators who come from all over the world to see the Olympics.

Transportation: As one of the only cities in the world with a 24/7 subway system and extensive bus system, New York can easily carry attendees to events across the five boroughs and metropolitan areas. As a centralized location for Amtrak, it also serves as a connector between upstate and downstate.

Lake Placid

Experience: Lake Placid hosted the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. The region has learned from past games the transportation needs and how to host spectators and athletes. 

Foundational infrastructure: Lake Placid possesses world-class winter Olympic venues - from Whiteface Mountain to the Olympic Center, to Mt Van Hoevenberg, and Olympic jumping complex. This dramatically minimizes the normally heavy investment that governments need to undertake when hosting a games. 

Record investment: Governor Hochul invested over $750 million to modernize Olympic Regional Development Authority facilities making them ready to host key events such as downhill skiing, cross country skiing, bobsled and more. Lake Placid regularly holds World Cup and World 

Championship events in most of the Winter Olympic disciplines. Lake Placid’s sliding track was the official back-up host for Milan-Cortina when there were delays in finishing their sliding track.

New York also does not need to prove it can hold the world’s attention. The New York Region is one of the hosts for the current World Cup. Weeks ago the Knicks won their first NBA championship since 1973 inside Madison Square Garden and turned the whole city out to celebrate. And the most talked-about wedding of the year, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s, is reported to be heading for the Garden as well. The biggest moments in sport and culture keep choosing New York, and the city keeps making them feel like its own.

“New York is where the world already comes,” Carroll added. “A Winter Olympics would allow us to showcase not only our city, but our mountains, our small towns, our history, and our people. Few places on Earth can tell a story as compelling as New York’s, from the skyline of Manhattan to the peaks of the Adirondacks.” 

The committee will explore the benefits and challenges of pursuing a future Winter Olympics. This includes taking into account infrastructure the state already has and potential economic benefits. Timing is the one part outside anyone’s control. With Los Angeles hosting in 2028 and Salt Lake City in 2034, the next open Winter Games is 2042, and the International Olympic Committee awards them more than a decade ahead. The work has to start now.

Carroll has spent the past year arguing that New York’s future depends on a connected upstate and downstate. The exploratory committee, he says, is the first real test of whether the line north of Bear Mountain can finally begin to fade. “For generations, people have talked about New York as if it were two different states,” Carroll said. “The Olympics offer a chance to tell a different story - one where upstate and downstate succeed together. Whether we ultimately pursue a bid or not, that conversation is worth having.”