USA Luge won’t decide for several more months whether to move its headquarters from longtime home Lake Placid, N.Y., to Park City, Utah, delaying a decision that had been expected this year.
“Funding initiatives with both parties are still an ongoing process,” said Jim Leahy, USA Luge executive director. “Our current talks with both may push the decision to the early spring.”
If USA Luge relocates, it would leave two-time Winter Olympics host Lake Placid without business headquarters of any sports governing body, though it would remain a major training destination for athletes. Lake Placid and Park City have the country’s only two full-length sliding tracks.
The possible relocation could be another chapter in the westward shift for winter sports in the U.S., and upstate New York officials are eager to prevent it.
In December, the Olympic Regional Development Authority will learn if it receives $500 million in requested state aid from New York’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The money would fund major upgrades to Olympics facilities around Lake Placid, seen as crucial to both keeping USA Luge and remaining viable as an option to host future Games.
“Lake Placid is an iconic Olympic village with a lot of foresight, and we’ll continue to invest in the facilities,” said Ted Blazer, president and CEO of the development authority. “New York is very committed to be at the forefront of these types of activities, and we’ve proved that over the years.”
Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation President and CEO Colin Hilton said USA Luge would benefit from the region’s athletic and medical infrastructure, as well as easy access to an international airport. The region’s strong business environment could boost sponsorship and fundraising efforts too, Hilton added.
“We believe we have created a terrific sports culture here with a lot of great partners, with support from our key public sector leaders/partners, the sports community, sponsors and many business and private sector leaders,” Jeff Robbins, president and CEO of the Utah Sports Commission, said via email. “We believe this ‘sports community’ would allow Luge to be successful here just as our other NGBs have been and other sports partners have been.”
USA Luge reported a $55,000 budget surplus on $2.14 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending June 2014, according to tax documents. It will post a “slight loss” in the year ending in 2015, according to recent board minutes.
Olympic sports governing bodies are spread throughout the U.S., including in Park City (the USA Ski and Snowboard Association), though a plurality call Colorado Springs, Colo., home.
