Milan beats Turin: speed skating at the Fair at the 2026 Games, no 2006 remake at the Oval

In Milan also the speed skating of the 2026 Olympics: Turin lost. The missed matches in the Baselga di Piné facility will not take place at the Turin Oval which hosted the 2006 Games, but in a temporary structure set up in the Fiera di Rho to which the IOC had given its go-ahead. The Milano-Cortina Foundation has decided: “After careful analyses, considering the characteristics of the two proposed solutions and the reflections that emerged in the last control room held last week in Rome, the board of directors of the organizing committee unanimously expressed in favor of the Fiera Rho project in Milan”.

Cirio and Lo Russo: “Regret, Turin was the best solution”

The reaction of the Piedmontese authorities was not long in coming: “We learned with regret of the decision taken today by the board of directors of the Milano Cortina Foundation regarding the venue for the speed skating competitions of the 2026 Olympics” the president of the Region wrote in a note Piedmont Albert Cirio and the mayor of Turin Stephen Lo Russo: “We continue to be firmly convinced that the Turin option was the best in terms of its technical characteristics and sustainability, at a time when public spending needs to be monitored and controlled with extreme attention. As Italians, we continue to cheer for the success of the Olympics and we hope that the assessments that led to the exclusion of the city of Turin are based on technical assessments, which actually take into account the times and costs of building the structures, and which are now confirmed in the construction of the works”.

The foundation: “Proposal financed entirely by private capital”

“The Milanese proposal financed entirely by private capital” reads the press release of the Milano Cortina 2026 Foundation, “has highlighted, in addition to the advantage of territorial continuity with the other competition sites in the ice world – with the exception of curling – a significant and greater concreteness combined with a reduction in operating costs: just think, by way of example, of the logistical issues relating to the movement of athletes, federation staff and referees; the costs of room and board and those of a dedicated and detached workforce at the new venue; or, again, to the income deriving from the multiple purchase of tickets: thanks to the territorial continuity, the fan will in fact be able to enjoy a greater number of matches in the same city”.