On the almost eternal question of the venue for the sledding competitions at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the views of the Italian organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) continue to diverge.
After the OK for the Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo announced on Tuesday that building a new track was still the preferred option, the IOC is continuing to push for the use of an existing track.
IOC against new building
One be “firmly believe that the current number of winter sports centers worldwide is sufficient for the current number of athletes and competitions” is sufficient in the relevant disciplines, an IOC spokesman told the AFP news agency.
Giovanni Malago, President of the Italian Olympic Committee CONI, announced the end of a new building in Italy in October, but the country’s right-wing government is pushing for a domestic solution – never before in the history of the Winter Olympics have competitions taken place outside the host country.
Construction company can imagine construction
There has been movement again in the matter for a few weeks now; the construction giant Pizzarotti would build a new ice track for 81.6 million euros; the construction should be completed by March 2025. However, a contract has not yet been concluded.
Recently, railways in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, among others, came into play as alternatives. The IOC had also expressed reservations about a new building from the start, given the unclear possibility of subsequent use.