Although the IOC is against it
Italy waves controversial Olympic project through
February 2, 2024, 10:06 p.m
After long debates, the ice track for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy is now to be built in Cortina d’Ampezzo. According to current data, the new ice track will cost 81.6 million euros.
Green light for the controversial new construction of a track for the sled competitions at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo: The Italian government in Rome announced that SIMICO, the company responsible for infrastructure projects related to the Games, has awarded the contract to the construction company Pizzarotti have granted.
The new building, which the International Olympic Committee (IOC) spoke out against, is expected to cost 81.6 million euros and be completed by March 2025. “This decision sends a clear signal and shows the determination of this government to carry out all the work for the Games in the best possible way and in Italy,” said Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini and Sports Minister Andrea Abodi.
In the evening, the IOC expressed “major concerns as to whether the project can be completed within the prescribed deadline of March 2025.” Never before has such a railway been completed in such a short period of time. Against this background, the IOC has asked the organizing committee to develop a plan B in the event of a delay.
The project had actually already been written off
The IOC had previously announced that it was “firmly convinced” that “the current number of winter sports centers worldwide is sufficient for the current number of athletes and competitions in the relevant sports,” as an IOC spokesman told the AFP news agency.
The project had actually already been written off. Giovanni Malago, President of the Italian Olympic Committee CONI, announced in October that there would be no new building in Italy, but the country’s right-wing government was pushing for a domestic solution. Recently, railways in Austria, Switzerland and Germany, among others, came into play as alternatives.
Bobsleigh, skeleton and tobogganing competitions will take place on the new track during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The ice track is scheduled to be built by mid-November 2024, and the competition tests are scheduled to take place in January and February 2025.