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≡ MILAN CORTINA 2026 ≡
A joint statement from the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (IBSF) and Federation Internationale de Luge (FIL) offered assurance that the under-construction track in Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) will be ready on time for 2025 time trials.
IBSF President Ivo Ferriani (ITA) explained:
“After our inspection on the site, I am very pleased to confirm that the quality of the product and the timing we see in the execution of the work, make us absolutely positive about the final result.
“We are sure that the track will be ready in the ways and times expected and above all with the quality necessary for the safety of the athletes.”
Work on the 1,650 m, 16-turn track was delayed over and over again and in 2023, a request for proposals from the Italian SiMiCo government agency responsible for Olympic construction received no bidders.
While it appeared that the bobsled, skeleton and luge events would be held at an existing track outside of Italy – likely in Austria or Switzerland – a political storm in Italy led to a trimming of the requirements and Parma-based Impresa Pizzarotti & C. submitted a bid of €81.6 million (about $90.1 million U.S. today) in January 2024.
Although the International Olympic Committee expressed its firm preference for an existing venue, this bid was accepted and construction began on 19 February and is required to be completed in time for trial runs and certification in March 2025.
According to Monday’s statement:
“During a track walk, the representatives of IBSF, FIL, The International Olympic Committee and Milano Cortina 2026 could see the progress which was made over the past months.
“In a meeting, Ing. Fabio Saldini, CEO of SiMiCo, the responsible company for the infrastructure buildings, updated both international federations and the IOC representative on the work accomplished so far and the works to be done over the upcoming months, including a ‘snow plan’ for works to continue during cold and snowy weather conditions.”
Saldini explained:
“The work schedule respects the timing, production and strategic objectives that will lead the track to pre-homologation in March 2025 and its use in view of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
“The spring season of intense bad weather did not affect the construction which respected the main stages and continues to progress according to the established times. The number of workers involved amounts to 200 resources, of which 150 are engaged in construction activities and 50 in pre-assembly activities at the production sites of the cooling systems.
“The snow emergency plan necessary to guarantee the possibility of using all the construction areas has already been activated: the glycol water present in the cooling pipes will be heated to ensure the temperatures suitable for the work.“
The new construction is replacing the famed Eugenio Monti track used for the 1956 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina, and is slated to be part of an entertainment and sports district in the mountain resort. It, along with a new hockey arena and student housing to be used as the Athlete’s Village are the highest-profile construction works key to the success of the Milan Cortina Winter Games in 2026.
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