The1980 Winter Olympics inLake Placid, New York,United States, utilized sevensports venues. Five of these venues were originally used in the 1932 Winter Olympics and were upgraded for the 1980 Games with electronic scoreboards, enhanced refrigeration, and a new separate luge track. The 1980 Winter Olympics was the last to feature separate bobsleigh and luge tracks. Following a remarkably close finish in the cross-country skiing event, officials decided future competitions would be timed to the hundredth of a second, a standard later extended to biathlon events. At the speed skating oval, Eric Heiden won five gold medals, while the "Miracle on Ice" saw the Americans triumph over the Soviets at the Olympic Center. In the late 1990s, the luge track was replaced with a combination track for the Winter Goodwill Games. In February 2010, the sliding venue was added to the American National Register of Historical Places.
| Venue | Sports | Capacity | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intervales Ski-Hill | Nordic combined (ski jumping),Ski jumping | 18,000 | [1] |
| Lake Placid Equestrian Stadium | Opening ceremonies | 30,000 | [2] |
| Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex Cross Country Biathlon Center | Biathlon,Cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (Cross-country skiing) | Not listed. | [3] |
| Mt. Van Hoevenberg Bob and Luge Run | Bobsleigh,Luge (Separate tracks) | 11,000 (bobsleigh) | [4] |
| Olympic Center Arena | Figure skating,Ice hockey | 8,500 | [5] |
| Olympic Arena | 2,000 | ||
| James B. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval | Speed skating | 7,500 | [6] |
| Whiteface Mountain | Alpine skiing | Not listed | [7] |
Lake Placid hosted theWinter Olympics in1932 with all five venues used for those games being used for the 1980 Winter Olympics.[8] The city made four unsuccessful bids for the Winter Olympics in1960,1968,1972, and1976 before being awarded the 1980 Winter Olympics by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1974.[9] Between the 1932 Winter Games and the 1980 Winter Games, Lake Placid played host to Winter Sports Championships, the first time many of them were held outside ofEurope.
After the 1932 Games, the speedskating oval hosted theWorld Allround Speed Skating Championships for Men.[10] The bob run hosted theFIBT World Championships in1949,1961,1969,1973, and1978.[11] In1950, theFIS Nordic World Ski Championships took place at the ski jump used for the 1932 Games for the ski jumping and the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined event.[12][13] Biathlon held their firstWorld Championships outside of Europe at Lake Placid in1973.[14]
When Lake Placid was awarded the 1980 Winter Games in 1974, venue adjustments were needed. For the alpine skiing events, snow making equipment was used.[7] This was used to make 4 ft (1.2 m) of man-made snow to cover all of the trails used for the events.[7] Six new ski lifts and electronic timing/ scoring systems were also constructed.[7] For theNordic skiing events (cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping), a total of 26 event officials were sent as observers to the1978 world championships inLahti,Finland to understand the venue needs for the 1980 Games.[1][3] For the 50 km race, a total of 266 acres (108 ha) was purchased and a trail system was created that involved tree-clearing.[3] Man-made snow was also applied for the cross-country skiing trail.[3] Races over 10 km in length were modified to meet the snow requirements as defined by theInternational Ski Federation.[3] An electronic scoreboard was installed for the cross-country skiing events.[3] This information was passed onto organizers for the1984 Winter Olympics inSarajevo.[3] Two new ski jumps were constructed.[1] The 70 m (230 ft) jump was constructed between May 1977 and December 1978.[1] Construction for the 90 m (300 ft) jump also started in May 1977, but was not done until the February 1979 test event to construction delays caused by the bankruptcy of the steel contractor.[1] Biathlon used trails similar to cross-country skiing though a separate finish area was used.[3] A protective shooting area of 125 by 95 m (410 by 312 ft) was built for the competition of 90 by 50 m (300 by 160 ft) for 36 shooting stations was built.[3] To cover 25 km (16 mi) of biathlon trails, twelve snow-making guns were used.[3]
Speed skating had increased refrigeration access, improved locker room, improved lighting, electronic timing/ scoring systems, and an electronic scoreboard.[6] TheWorld Sprint Speed Skating Championships were held at the Oval in 1978 and proved beneficial on how to run the event.[6][15] A separate facility was constructed near the Olympic Center for figure skating with renovation taking place at the Center itself between spring 1977 and November 1979.[5] The biggest change was at the bob and luge track with the construction of a refrigeration system for the bob run following the 1978 World Championships in Lake Placid that also served as the test event for the 1980 Games.[4] A new luge track was built between fall 1977 and February 1979.[4] The original plan for the luge track was to include bobsleigh two-man on the track, but that was abandoned to excessive costs.[4] It was the first luge track in North America.[4] This was also the last Winter Olympics that would have separate bobsleigh and luge tracks.[4]
Cross-country skiing was first timed to the nearest full second from the firstWinter Olympics in1924 until1956.[16][17] By the time of the1960 Winter Olympics, both biathlon and cross-country skiing began timing their events to the tenth of the second.[18]Twelve years later, biathlon and cross-country skiing timing was measured in the hundredths of a second.[19] In the men' 15 km cross-country skiing event,Sweden'sThomas Wassberg beat outFinland'sJuha Mieto by 0.01 seconds, the closest finish in Olympic history.[20] This would leadInternational Ski Federation officials to measure all cross-country skiing time to the tenth of a second.[21] Biathlon followed suit with cross-country skiing and by the time of the1984 Winter Olympics inSarajevo, both sports had their times measured in tenths of a second.[22][23][24]
The luge track hosted theFIL World Luge Championships in1983, the first time the championships were held outside of Europe.[25] Meanwhile, the bobsleigh track would host the FIBT World Championships in1997 in men'sskeleton.[26] In the late 1990s, the luge track was demolished and replaced with a combination bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton track was built that would be completed in time for the 2000 WinterGoodwill Games.[27] The combination venue hosted the men's bobsleigh World Championships in2003. In 2009, the combination track became the first track to host thebobsleigh,luge, and skeleton world championships the same year in a non-Winter Olympic year.[11][25][26] On 4 February 2010, the entire venue was added to theNational Register of Historic Places in the United States.[28]
Lake Placid host the men's version of the Biathlon World Championships in1987.[29] The city also hosted the firstFIS Freestyle World Ski Championships held outside of Europe in1991.[30]
In 1994, the ski jumps were upgraded to meet the International Ski Federation requirements of K90 and K120.[31]
The Olympic Center Arena continues to be used and was renamed theHerb Brooks Arena in 2005 after thecoach of 1980 US ice hockey team.[32]
TheOlympic Village facilities were repurposed forFederal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook.[33]
