Olympic Ice Skating In Madison Square Garden? New York Governor Eyes Bid for Winter Games

The Winter Olympics may be coming back to New York-and perhaps even land in New York City-but don't get too excited: if the Games return to the Empire State, it wouldn't be for several decades.



Those plans seem to be simmering, however. In a recent conversation with The Athletic, New York governor Kathy Hochul said she wants to make an Olympic bid for her state, noting that "significant" meetings are underway.



There's a way to go before that could happen. At the very earliest, it would be in 2042. The French Alps have the next slot for the Games in 2030. After that, in 2034, Salt Lake City is on the calendar. And Switzerland, according to The Athletic, is in "exclusive" conversations with Olympic organizers to lock down 2038. The Winter Olympics happen every four years.



That isn't stopping some New York officials from imagining where future Olympic events could take place, though.



Per Hochul, the bid could take a page out of the Milan-Cortina book-Milan and Cortina jointly hosted the latest Winter Olympics in Italy-pairing New York City with the Upstate locale of Lake Placid.

Robert C. Carroll, a member of the New York State Assembly, previously laid out how the two-region model might look in an op-ed.



To start, how about ice skating in Madison Square Garden or the Barclays Center?



"Those arenas could stage every indoor ice event, while iconic outdoor settings could push the boundaries of what a Winter Games looks like-Big Air at Citi Field or Yankee Stadium, or even a cross-country sprint through Central Park," Carroll wrote.



(For the record: Big Air in a baseball stadium isn't as wild as it sounds. Years ago, skiers hit a towering jump in the middle of Boston's Fenway Park.)



Then, of course, there's Lake Placid, which last hosted the Winter Olympics in 1980, seeing the famed "miracle on ice" where U.S. hockey players defeated the Soviet Union in an upset and eventually went on to win gold.



The Lake's home to multiple well-preserved Olympic facilities, thanks to the Olympic Regional Development Authority, or ORDA. In 1980, Whiteface Mountain hosted the alpine skiing events.

As for building new venues, Hochul told The Athletic that "One never knows. This would be for later. It's very early."



Regardless, Carroll appears to be all-in.



"The Olympic flame should not stop at the Rockies," he wrote. "It is time to bring it to New York."

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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 10:38 AM.