LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Jan 21 (Reuters) – The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics sliding centre and the ice hockey stadium are almost complete but some work is still necessary so they can be delivered for the Games in 16 days’ time, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
The sliding centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo was under intense pressure after Italy decided less than three years ago to build a new venue instead of using an existing one in a neighbouring country to keep costs down and speed up preparations.
That decision — opposed by the IOC before being grudgingly accepted — meant Italian organisers had their backs to the wall from the start of the project. Milan’s Santagiulia ice hockey venue had an equally tight construction schedule.
“The sliding centre. Is there still some work to be done? Yes, a lot,” the IOC’s Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi told a press conference.
“But what I have been told is it’s not complex work. Everything that has to do with systems, track refrigeration, scoring, cameras, all is in place,” Dubi, speaking from Milan, said.
“What I saw is still a lot of finishing touches, some concrete pavements for tents, some ground work to get the venue ready for spectators.
“They have a lot of people working. It will be ready, no doubt. I am very confident for the sliding centre.”
Slow progress and construction delays at the Santagiulia arena in the southeast of Milan was one of the main headaches in the run-up to the Olympics but Dubi said work was in full swing to finish off a venue that will host ice hockey competitions.
“Hats off to all who could pull off a venue in such a short time,” Dubi said. “It started late. That means all hands are on deck. 1600 workers a day are in the venue. I am super confident.”
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Ken Ferris)
