The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created to administer the post 1980 Winter Olympic program for the facilities in Lake Placid and the surrounding areas. These facilities include: the Olympic Ice Center; the Olympic Speedskating Oval; the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area and Veterans' Memorial Highway; the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Complex; the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex; and the U.S. Olympic Training Center. In 1984, the Authority's responsibilities expanded to include the management of Gore Mountain Ski Center in Warren County. ORDA hosts numerous national and international athletic and entertainment events each year. ORDA's activities are supported by revenue generated by venue marketing, fees and ticket sales to athletic and other events, as well as through General Fund appropriations contained in the State Budget.

The Authority is included in the Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation appropriation bill.

State Operations

The Executive recommends a General Fund appropriation of $7,400,000 for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2003-04, reflecting a decrease of $152,000 from SFY 2002-03 levels for contractual services. This General Fund appropriation supports approximately 30 percent of the Authority's $25,000,000 operating budget. It is expected that this General Fund reduction will be offset by increased ticket sale revenues at ORDA's Whiteface and Gore Mountain skiing facilities.

The General Fund appropriation includes $1,200,000 that was originally allocated for close out costs related to the bobsled and luge track in SFY 2000-01. This appropriation is now utilized for ongoing maintenance costs associated with the facility.

The Executive recommends a Fiduciary Fund appropriation of $200,000 from the Winter Sports Education Trust Fund to support winter sports education activities, including involvement with the United States Training Center and the New York State Ski Education Federation. In addition, the Executive recommends an appropriation of $150,000 from the Lake Placid Training Account. These appropriations reflect no change from SFY 2002-03 levels.