Olympia 2026 without a bob run in Innsbruck-Igls
The organizers of Milan/Cortina 2026 consider the renovation costs for the Tyrolean railway to be too high.
The bobsleigh run in Igls near Innsbruck will not be used as a venue for the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton competitions as part of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. This is what Luigivalerio Sant’Andrea, government commissioner and manager of the company “Milano Cortina 2020-2026”, in charge of building the infrastructure for the Winter Games, said on Thursday. The problem is that the renovation costs are too high.
The bobsled track in Igls can only be used with a renovation that would cost 50 million euros, Sant’Andrea reported, according to the media. The use of the bobsleigh track in Cesana in northern Italy’s Piedmont, which was built for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, was also ruled out because it was no longer usable. There are no other facilities within a reasonable distance.
A bobsleigh track is now to be built in Cortina. This is to be built as part of a sports area known as a “Sliding Centre”, on which the disciplines bobsleigh, parabob, tobogganing and skeleton are to be held, the government commissioner reported. The schedule is tight. An order for the construction of the bobsleigh run is to be awarded before the summer, so that work can start with a delay in July. In the meantime, in a few weeks, the demolition of the old “Eugenio Monti” slope, which was closed in 2008 and is now derelict, will begin.
The Italian government has already made 1.4 billion euros available for the Winter Games, which should cost a total of 2.1 billion euros. She holds 500 million euros thanks to sponsors. Italy had already organized the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
A new Board of Directors of the 2026 Winter Olympics Organizing Committee is now in place following the appointment of Communications Manager Andrea Varnier as Managing Director. The number of members shrinks from 26 to 14 members. They include the head of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), Giovanni Malagò, and ex-swimmer Federica Pellegrini.
(APA)