Kris Cheney-Seymour, manager of the Mount Van Hoevenberg Nordic ski center near Lake Placid, stands in front of the facility’s new 30-lane biathlon shooting range on March 14. (Enterprise photo — Peter Crowley)

LAKE PLACID — The massively overhauled Mount Van Hoevenberg venue outside Lake Placid will host the U.S. Biathlon National Championships on March 23-27, 2022. It’s the first time since 1996 these championships have been held in Lake Placid.

While the news had been discussed for months, the state Olympic Regional Development Authority and U.S. Biathlon officially announced it Monday.

The National Championships will bring together the best junior and senior biathlon athletes in the United States, with more than 100 competitors expected.

Van Hoevenberg’s upgrades include a new biathlon stadium featuring a 30-lane range, a high-efficiency snowmaking system with reservoir, an additional 5 kilometers of competition trails certified to international standards, the recently constructed three-story Mountain Pass Lodge, and a competition layout designed for spectator viewing and access.

“U.S. Biathlon is thrilled with the new world-class venue at Mount Van Hoevenberg,” said the organization’s CEO and President Max Cobb. “We are very excited to award the 2022 National Championships and bring our biathlon community together in Lake Placid. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard on Mount Van Hoevenberg’s impressive modernizations.”

“Mount Van Hoevenberg’s updated design allows us to host these National Championships in a way that is both exciting and accommodating for athletes, spectators, and the recreational public,” said ORDA President and CEO Mike Pratt. “We are eager to welcome the U.S. Biathlon National Championships back to Lake Placid.”

Several local athletes who will be participating in the event.

“I am so excited that Lake Placid will be hosting the 2022 US Biathlon National Championships — it’s a game changer,” said 2018 Olympic biathlete and ORDA ambassador Maddie Phaneuf, a Lake Placid resident who grew up in the Adirondack hamlet of Old Forge. “Being able to have Olympians skiing our venue alongside our local kids is an amazing and unique opportunity.”