Italy 2026 Olympic organizers sign deal to rebuild sliding track amid IOC standoff
Contract for century-old track puts 'full stop' to saga with Italian finance minister
Barely two years before the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the local organizing committee signed a contract on Friday to rebuild a century-old bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, putting "a full stop" on a saga that has Italy's finance minister starting to regret backing the bid.
The contract is with Parma-based construction company Impresa Pizzarotti & C., which has offered to rebuild the Cortina track for 81.6 million euros (about $118 million). It has said work will start on Feb 19.
The committee for the Milan-Cortina Games announced on Tuesday its decision to move forward with plans amid a standoff with the International Olympic Committee, which wants an existing foreign venue in neighbouring Austria or Switzerland used instead to cut costs. But the Italian government does not want to finance a foreign venue.
"The choice puts a full stop on it and attests to the extreme determination of this government to finish all the woks for the Games in the best way and in Italy," a statement read.
Next Tuesday will mark exactly two years before the opening ceremony in Milan, but the Cortina track has to be ready before then. There is less than a year before IOC-mandated test events, and the Milan-Cortina committee is aware that "under no circumstances" can the new track be certified after March 2025.
No sliding track has been built recently in such a short timeframe and organizers are continuing negotiations for an eventual Plan B — likely in a neighbouring country — that would require added budget.
Timing risk
There is the risk that if it is not ready in time the committee will have to spend more, while still paying to rebuild the Cortina track that would not be used for the Olympics.
"The Olympics don't come every two years, they're coming in 2026 and then they won't come again, and I'm beginning to regret backing it, because I feel the responsibility," Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said.
Giorgetti was speaking at a meeting in Sondrio, in the Valtellina valley that is also home to Bormio where the men's skiing is slated to take place.
He added that an electronic sign should be placed "at the entrance to Valtellina that shows how many days are left to make us understand the necessary urgency."
