ORDA

[asland]

I was having an argument with a person on another board that if whiteface's and ASC season passes could be so cheap so could sugarbush and stowe. The person stated that whiteface is heavily subsidized by NY state and ORDA. When I lived in lake placid and ski jumped there I know the jumps did receive some money but I did not think that much. I always thought that they tried to make the venues self-sufficent but ended up having to give some backing.

Question: Does anyone know if whiteface is still subsidize by NY state through ORDA and to what extent?

thanks,

asland

 

[snowman]

The state does fund ORDA. ORDA runs Whiteface, Gore, the Olympic rink, speed skating rink, and bobsled\luge track in LP. North Elba also pays ORDA to run the town owned venues in LP.
Check out ORDA's web site - http://www.orda.org/newsite/about.php. Also check out http://www.orda.org/newsite/about/annual_report.php.
According to the economic implact report at the above site, in 2005, ORDA earned $18,231,140. It received $6,468,133 from NYS and $778,630 from the Town of North Elba. Whiteface had revenue of $7,205,842 and Gore had revenue of $6,515,536.
In September, the state Empire Development Association voted to grant ORDA $15 million to pay off outstanding debt and obligations. (Bond Buyer. New York, N.Y.: Sep 21, 2006. Vol. 357, Iss. 32471; pg. 6)
There is always debate in NY about the value of the state funding. You can find both sides on the web.
Enough financial talk, let's get skiing!