Lake Placid officials: State's winter games will go on

Although the Summer Empire State games remain canceled, the winter games have new life.

The state had canceled funding on Tuesday, which presumably had shut down both events, but Lake Placid officials announced Thursday that there is "no doubt" the event will take place as scheduled, Feb. 25-27 at Olympic Regional Development Authority venues.

"We got together with local organizations and leaders and decided to do it," James McKenna, president of the Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, told Newsday Thursday.

The winter games have been held in Lake Placid since its inception in 1978.

Empire State Games officials had said that the future of the games would be in jeopardy without a sustained stream of state funding.

McKenna and other Lake Placid officials and business leaders met Wednesday to discuss contingency plans to save the area's games.

"We need the games, but not only for economic reasons," McKenna said. "Many athletes that train here have gone on to be Olympians. This is a good sports region."

SEE PHOTOS2010 Empire State Games

Although the cost of operating the winter games is considerably less than the summer games, Lake Placid officials say they won't know how much money will be needed to keep the games going until after the state Division of the Budget releases its 2011 budget the week after Thanksgiving.

The division projected that the winter event would cost taxpayers $150,000, according to an Associated Press report Thursday.

An estimated 6,000 athletes compete in the summer games compared to about 1,300 in the winter games.