FISU will leave a lasting legacy in Lake Placid

The 2023 FISU World University Games will leave a much needed legacy for the Lake Placid community. A residential housing development is expected to help address the shortage of affordable housing in the up-state New York area.

After the Games conclude in January, the athletes village will remain to serve the Lake Placid community with affordable rental housing.

It’s the “perfect example” of “taking the opportunity to use the Games as the catalyst to improve upon or to really fill a need here in the community,” said Ashley Walden, executive director of the Adirondack North Country Sports Council (ADKSC). “I’m super-excited that things are actually happening.”

The 60-unit development will house part of the 2,500 athletes arriving from more than 50 countries to compete in events that include skiing, skating, ski jumping, snowboarding, ice hockey and curling.

Larry Regan, president of Regan Development Corporation, said his group took a page from the “after-use” model used for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah and 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Calif.

“Right after the Games, it turns right over to be used for permanent workforce affordable rental housing,” he said. “We’re able to put it all together timing-wise, so we can do both.”

The FISU World University Games is among the world’s largest winter multi-sports competitions. The competition program includes nine compulsory sports and can also include up to three optional sports.

The 31st Winter Universiade in 2023 will return the FISU Flame to North American soil for the first time since nearby Buffalo hosted the Summer Universiade in 1993. This marks the first time the Winter Universiade returns to a former host city as Lake Placid held the event in 1972.

The 11-day international festival and competitions combine high-level sport with educational and cultural events, all taking place in Lake Placid and nearby towns from January 12-22, 2023.