It pays homage to the stunning Olympic title captured by the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team in Lake Placid. The life-size monument will be created by Rob Eccleston, a sculptor who splits his time between New York City, Lake Placid and, most recently, Colorado.

The monument will reside in perpetuity just beneath the arena where the games were played in Lake Placid. It will depict all 20 players from the iconic photo captured on the Olympic podium. The picture was taken moments after the gold medal was secured on Feb. 24, 1980 in the victory over Finland. The gold medal game occurred two days after the shocking upset of the Soviet Union in the game forever known as the Miracle on Ice.

Monument to a Miracle will allow that transcendent achievement — dubbed the greatest sports moment in American history — to be highly visible on Lake Placid’s main thoroughfare.

The timeline for creating the sculpture is now underway. It is expected to culminate in February 2030, just in time for the 50th anniversary of the Lake Placid Olympic Winter Games when these monuments will be unveiled as part of a grand celebration.

The ambitious project is a significant financial undertaking, and there is a fundraising effort underway to reach the estimated $5.2 million budget. Friends of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Hockey Team Corp. is a volunteer effort spearheading the Monument to a Miracle fundraising project. It’s a registered nonprofit corporation and all donations are tax-deductible.

Jeff Potter serves as the president of the Friends of the 1980 Miracle on Ice Hockey Team Corp. Much like the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, he said reaching the goal and making the monument a reality will take everyone working together.

“You can be part of creating history,” he said. “By supporting the 1980 legacy, you can help the Miracle live forever. Please consider giving a gift today. There are seven donation levels ranging from Miracle Level to Monument Supporter.”

More information about the monument, including ways to donate, is available online at 1980MiracleMonument.org.