Milan and Cortina had been chosen as host cities in 2019 and whereas present services have largely been used, new venues have been created for ice hockey and the sliding sports activities.
A yr out from the Video games beginning, the Cortina Sliding Centre – rebuilt on a century-old observe at a value of greater than ยฃ72m – was dealing with a race towards time to be prepared.
Whereas that race was received, with the opening races of the bobsleigh and skeleton season happening on the brand new observe in November, the identical can’t be stated for the Milano Santagiulia ice hockey stadium.
As not too long ago as Sunday, Olympic organisers stated the stadium wouldn’t be fully completed in time for Thursday’s first match of the Video games – however they had been “completely sure” all scheduled fixtures can be performed there.
The 11,800-capacity stadium has been beset by delays and controversies – together with a boycott warning from the Nationwide Hockey League (NHL).
The rink in Milan, accredited by the Worldwide Ice Hockey Federation, is shorter than the minimal requirement within the NHL, resulting in ideas there might be a rise in high-speed collisions. The standard of the ice has additionally been questioned.
From an Olympics controversies perspective, issues did not get any higher for hosts Italy when their biathlete Rebecca Passler was kicked out of the Video games due to a failed doping take a look at on Monday.
Source link
#Winter #Olympics #MilanCortina #Video games
