IOC Impressed as 2026 Olympic Sliding Center Surpasses Expectations

A controversial new sliding center in Cortina for the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics has “surpassed expectations” said the International Olympic Committee, one of its fiercest opponents to the construction.

The sixth and final IOC inspection visit ahead of the Games was completed this week with tours of multiple venues between the coordination commission, members of the executive board and local organizing committee.

“We had issues with the sliding center,” said Kristin Kloster, head of the IOC’s coordination commission for the Milan-Cortina Games. “We thought the timeline was too short, and also we thought that the legacy benefit from the new sliding center would probably not meet the expectations that we wanted.

“Having said all that, the decision from the national authorities in Italy to create a sliding center … has surpassed our expectations: they have delivered on time, the sliding century has been tested by athletes already and I think it’s all going really, really well. So I’m impressed with the work.”

The IOC had previously made clear its preference to use an active track in nearby Austria or Switzerland instead of rebuilding the Cortina venue, a century-old track which had been closed since 2008. But in need of a backup option for Cortina, the IOC let the local organizers pick a Plan B — and that is how, if the track would not have been completed, Lake Placid, New York, would have been the host for bobsled, luge and skeleton at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.

Lake Placid, a two-time Winter Olympic host from 1932 and 1980, underwent extensive renovations at all its winter sports venues including the Mt Van Hoevenberg Sliding Center track.

Another project that caused concern was the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is set to welcome back NHL players to the Olympics. While the timeframe for that is also tight, the main body of the facility now rises 115 feet above street level.

“There are currently some works that need to be finished and which we know will be finished very close to the Games. But this is a reality that we already had many months ago.” Milan-Cortina CEO Andrea Varnier said. “We know that there are very tight deadlines, we are monitoring it and we are rightly nervous because the timings are very important. For now they are all in the plan we imagined.”

IOC President Kirsty Coventry toured Santagiulia in the south of the city as well as the Olympic Village in Milan on Thursday. The Olympic Village was completed in July, a month ahead of schedule after 900 days of work. The 1,200 bedrooms — which will house up to 1,700 athletes — are yet to be furnished and the gym.

The facility will be converted into student housing after the Games, which start with the Opening Ceremony at San Siro on February 6.

“We all agreed in the (Olympic) Movement that we needed to try to be more sustainable, to reach out to regions,” Coventry said. “This is the first time we’re going to see this. So let’s make it not just incredible Games for Milan, for Cortina, but for all the regions, and for Italy, and for the Olympic Movement.”

Organizers were briefed this week by Italian authorities on security for the far-flung Games and expressed confidence in the plans. Security will be in place when the torch begins its journey across Italy on December 6, organizers said.

The Milan-Cortina games present a particular challenge, spanning multiple regions, involving not only the Rome government but also six prefects in the Lombardy and Veneto regions as well as the autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino.

“It’s been volatile for quite a while; we saw that starting in Paris,” during the 2024 Summer Games, said Christophe Dubi, the Olympic Games executive director. “The number one task for the hosts is to ensure the safety and security of participants always, no matter where, no matter when. Always you have a certain level of risk that you need to address.”