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And thats why it looks the same. It destroyed a lot of the towns ability to do a lot considering IIRC, they are STILL paying off the facilities and associated costs. They were for sure when I left the area in the mid 90s and there was no end in sight.

They were never able to host all the events after the olympics they planned for due to a combo of the weather, the Adirondack Park Agency interference, NY generally changing laws on a moments notice and a lot of other issues.

I don't think it cost very much to host the Winter Olympics there in 1980. There were only six venues for all of the events, and most (if not all) of them were built as training centers for U.S. Olympic athletes. There were only 38 different events, and the U.S. won gold medals in only six of them. Remarkably, these included the "Miracle on Ice" gold medal in hockey, plus Eric Heiden's five gold medals in speed skating. That's it.

Another interesting bit of trivia ... The Lake Placid Olympics in 1980 were the last time the speed skating events were held outdoors. It's really strange to see video clips of those events with trees and mountains in the background, and spectators bundled up in the cold!