ISU Builds ‘Home of Skating’ to Grow Sports

At the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, new concepts in hospitality could be seen throughout the region. In a first, several U.S. national governing bodies teamed up to launch the Starbucks Winter House at a boutique hotel near the city center.

But at its base hotel near the figure skating arena, the sport’s international federation, ISU, launched a new concept of its own: the ISU Home of Skating. The venue, open to athletes, sponsors, families and other invited guests, served both as a place to watch events, socialize, take meetings and network. But it also may be the hospitality concept the federation tries to replicate at future events.

And the International Skating Union, which oversees figure skating and speedskating, has a lot of events at which to activate. The federation organizes more than 40 events annually, with the potential for more including a new short track team concept and the development of a discipline of synchronized skating with nine people per team that will be part of the next Youth Olympic Games.

The Home of Skating concept is a byproduct of the federation’s recently adopted Vision 2030 strategic plan, said Kristian D’Amore, the ISU’s head of marketing, who gave SportsTravel a tour of the venue.
“Under Vision 2030, we’re looking to transform the organization, the sport, the disciplines, and reception to media, to fans, to the community,” he said. “And part of that is creating a space for the athletes, for the families and for commercial prospects and showing what the sport will become.”

As you enter a tunnel to the welcome area, the sport’s goals are literally up on the wall, citing statistics and accomplishments the IF has achieved.

Once inside, there are displays for each discipline of the sport: figure skating, short track speedskating and long track speedskating. That includes clothing to admire, such as Katarina Witt’s outfit from her 1984 Olympic triumph, as well as Yuna Kim’s outfits from her short and free programs at the 2010 Games. During the Games in Milan, there was a panel discussion on the role fashion plays in figure skating, further tying in the items on display.

Outside, there is a studio, where the sports’ greats have been coming in for interviews and other social media programming.

A bar called The Edge is also a concept the federation will look to brand and replicate at future events, D’Amore said.

“What we really want is to build out this concept,” he said. “For me, it looks like a really premium environment and hospitality space. Beyond the Olympics, we’re looking at how can we turn The Edge concept into our hospitality spaces at world championships.”

New Disciplines

But the Home of Skating is also a way to emphasize the changes coming to some of the federation’s traditional version of the sports. Synchronized skating is one area that will be receiving a boost, he said.

“Synchro is the fourth discipline and the only one currently not on an Olympic program, but we look to repackage the product,” he said. “Typically it’s 16 skaters, and Synchro Nine is entering a new area and will be part of the Youth Olympic Games program in 2028.”

And the Short Track World Tour, which was launched in 2024, will be back this year with more events in the dynamic speedskating discipline.

“It’s part of repackaging the short track product,” D’Amore said. “We’ve created new team identities. So we have the Italian Gladiators, or the Canadian Ice Maples, or the British Royals. This is all IP that is going to take us into the next phase of how we communicate with the fans, how we go to markets, how we create a new identity and create connection point with fans and with teams.”

More Than 1 Million Followers

And there is evidence the connections are working. The Olympic Winter Games came as the federation reported passing the 1 million-follower mark on social channels, including more than 500 million each on Facebook and Instagram.

And the ISU has launched a new strategic partnership with Deloitte aimed at strengthening the federation’s digital ecosystem and enhancing the fan experience.

“Announcing this partnership here at the ISU Home of Skating and during the Olympic Winter Games, underlines the direction we are taking as a federation,” ISU President Jae Youl Kim said in a statement announcing the deal. “Vision 2030 is about transforming how we grow and present our sports, and we are delighted that Deloitte will be joining us on that journey — making these sports more dynamic, engaging and accessible for future generations of fans, while remaining true to our values.”