On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 2021, NBC Sports shared images of Lake Placid’s Olympic Jumping Complex in homes across the US. ORDA hosted the New Year’s Eve Jump at the Intervales Lodge just days later. With throngs of fans in attendance, the 2022 Olympic Trials in Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined were broadcast live – the first televised ORDA event since the onset of COVID. Remarkably, one that also set a broadcast rating record.

With significant investment in the ski jumps and lodge, the Lake Placid Olympic Legacy Site is poised for much more national and international attention. Some of these events will certainly be held in the evening when good lighting is vital not only for television broadcasts but also for the safety of the athletes.

To create the best possible nighttime environment for jumping and significant events while also enhancing the facility’s ability to control lighting and reduce its effects beyond the jumps, ORDA will soon be lighting the jumps with a new pinpoint precision system. By installing new, fully adjustable down-focused lights and replacing the older lights with controlled LED sports lighting, ORDA will create the ideal environment at the jumps for major nighttime events while not lighting the nighttime skies around it.

“We want to do this right for our community,” states Olympic Jumping Complex Facilities Superintendent Jamie Campbell. “This is important for all of us, so we’re designing the right lighting and lighting that will only be used at full brightness when it’s really needed for evening events.”

ORDA is contracting with Musco, the country’s leading designer and manufacturer of sports infrastructure lighting systems. “The new LED lighting will greatly enhance visibility for athletes and create the right environment for major network television broadcasts, yet it comes with important additional benefits,” says Campbell.

Key advantages of the new lighting system include:

  • LED replacement lights that will be more energy-efficient and therefore offer a more environmentally sustainable solution
  • Zoned lighting for the various jumps to light only what is required at any given time rather than the entire facility
  • Greater control and pinpoint accuracy to diminish the side-effect of nighttime light in Adirondack skies

The entire project calls for only down-lighting systems with pinpoint precision to keep the light in the facility and minimize the impact on the surrounding environment.

Every sports lighting project demands a solution that’s right for athletes and competition. This one will also provide the right solution for everyone who lives in and loves Lake Placid’s Olympic Region.