New York prison was Winter Olympic venue and athletes practically lived in cells

When Lake Placid, in the State of New York, landed the chance to host the 1980 Winter Olympics, organisers began to scramble for funding for the showpiece.

They found it after convincing the federal government to allocate $28 million (£21million) for the construction of the Olympic village.

However, there was one condition – the village would need a practical use after the games.

And while this proved to be a sticking point for a while, Robert McEwen had a radical idea of giving it a second life as a prison.

The plan was accepted, the funding was secured, and construction began.

“No one had thought about a prison," Norman Carlson, then the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, later admitted.

He added: “I certainly hadn’t.”

But McEwen, and John Slack, had approached Carlson with the idea, and he admitted the more he thought about the scenario the more it made sense.

The village needed to be secure, particularly after the horrific events of the 1972 Summer Olympics, and so did the prison that would stand there afterwards.

What do you think of the decision? Let us know in the comments section


While the organisers were happy with the decision, the athletes certainly weren't.

Sports Illustrated reported, in 1979, that a growing number of teams were refusing to be 'incarcerated' in the facility that was being built.

While it bore the Olympic logo, the construction focused around the facility's long term future as a jail.

Athletes were ultimately housed in 10×10 foot rooms with bunk beds and steel doors – the lucky one's had a window eight feet up the wall.

Don't miss a thing with our football updates!

Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news?

Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star football email newsletter!

From the latest transfer news to the agenda-setting stories, get it all in your email inbox – don't miss a thing.

How do you sign up?

It only takes a matter of seconds.

Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article and hit 'subscribe'.

And that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top news stories every single morning.

You can find out more information on our email newsletter on this link here.

1,072 athletes from 37 countries descended on the facility for the two-week event in February 1980.

After 38 events in six sports over ten disciplines, the Soviet Union topped the medal table ahead of East Germany and the USA.

The games ended on February 24, and a couple of months later FCI Ray Brook was opened as detainees entered the medium-level security prison.

FCI Ray Brook is still in operation today.

Win one of five £100 Sports Direct vouchers

Here is your chance to win £100 in Sports Direct vouchers.

Sports betting newsletter The Inside Track is giving away five £100 Sports Direct vouchers to new subscribers.

Fill out your name in the form, confirm your age and following the instructions.

Click here to sign up to the newsletter.

Must be at least 25 years of age | T&Cs apply | begambleaware.org | Gamble Responsibly

It might have been the legacy of the games had the USA men's Ice Hockey team pulled off one of the great Olympic upsets.

Dubbed the 'Miracle on Ice', the US side – comprised of exclusively college athletes – took on the Soviet side, who were all but professionals.

The Soviets had swept up every Olympic Ice Hockey title since 1964, and the two sides met in the final with Cold War tensions at their boiling point.

The American side unbelievably pulled off a 4-3 win.

Source: Read Full Article