1972 Denver Winter Olympics referendum Innsbruck, Austria would be selected as the replacement city, hosting the Winter Olympics for the second time. 1972 Denver Winter Olympics referendum The Denver Winter Olympics Referendum was held in 1972 following the awarding to Denver of the 1976 Winter Olympics. However, a 300% rise in costs and worries about environmental impact led to Colorado voters' rejection on November 7, 1972, by a 3 to 2 margin, of a $5 million bond issue to finance the games with public funds. It was the only time a city awarded the Games rejected them. Richard Lamm was an obscure state legislator when
1980 Winter Olympics 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games (French: "Les XIIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver"), was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13, through February 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada, which withdrew before the final vote (though Vancouver would eventually win the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics.) The mascot of the Games was "Roni", a raccoon.