Olympic Regional Development Authority

The New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface Mountain and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex, located five miles from Lake Placid at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; and the Olympic ice and jumping complexes. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectators, and With the great assistance of New York State, ORDA has seen unparalleled support of its operation from Albany. In the past 10 years, the state has provided ORDA over $70 million for venue upgrades. The organization used these funds in 1999 to install heated, high-speed, state-of-the-art gondolas at both Gore and Whiteface mountains as well as improvements elsewhere, including a high-speed quad chair lift at Whiteface. In addition, Albany contributed over $18 million toward the $24 million price tag needed to construct the world's second newest bobsled, luge and skeleton track on Mt. Van Hoevenberg which opened in 2000. The federal government has supplied the remainder of the funding for this track as well as assisting ORDA with money for other projects. New York State, the Department of Economic Development and our local elected officials contribute to a synergy allowing ORDA and Lake Placid to remain at the forefront of winter sports training and competition by investing in the modernization of these facilities. This not only insures Lake Placid's place in sports, but enables ORDA to be the economic engine that drives the tourism industry in the North Country of upstate New York.