Intense work and preparations progress full speed ahead inside Cortina d’Ampezzo’s historic 1956 Ice Stadium, including construction of all temporary structures. Work is on schedule, according to one insider, albeit without time to spare.
The targeted completion date of the Olympic curling venue, which has been steadily improved since last summer, stands at Jan. 27.
In an exclusive to The Curling News, machinery can be seen standing on the concrete floor, which will be once again turned into a magnificent ice surface in the days to come.
The venerable sports stadium – which was home to opening and closing ceremonies, hockey and figure skating at the 1956 Olympics – will be renamed the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium for the fast-approaching 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games. Full seating capacity is expected to be 3,500.
“It’s super exciting being in this venue with all of the history here and especially looking out from all of the old wooden seats,” World Curling Federation president Beau Welling told The Curling News, during an interview at the venue last year.
“We’re also excited about opportunities to shoot curling in a different way, from a video standpoint and camera coverage with different angles. I think people are very excited about these sort of prospects here.”
Nearby the curling stadium and just up the Cortina mountainside lies the newly renovated Eugenio Monti Sliding Centre, which will be the competition venue for bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events.
A short distance around the corner, the top women’s alpine skiers will race for medals on the Olympia delle Tofane slope.
Cortina’s three Olympic venues are nestled in close proximity, which will provide for a cozy vibe.
“The environment is going to be spectacular and I think the whole village will feel great with the sliding track now adding to the environment,” Welling says. “I think it’s going to add up to be a true multi-sport venue here which will be great.”
The start of Olympic mixed doubles round robin play is scheduled for Wednesday evening, Feb. 4, two days prior to the opening ceremony in Milan. Session one matchups include Sweden versus Korea, Great Britain against Norway, Canada facing Czechia and Estonia battling Switzerland.
Defending Olympic mixed doubles champions Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner of Italy will begin their home ice title defense on Thursday morning, Feb. 5, against Korea.
Mixed Doubles medals will be decided during matches on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Men’s fours team play kicks off on Wednesday, Feb. 11, followed by the women on Thursday, Feb. 12. In total, competition takes place over 19 consecutive days – concluding with the women’s gold medal final on Sunday morning, Feb. 22 – offering more wall-to-wall action than any other sport at the Games.
“We start curling two days before the ceremony and curl three times a day until the closing ceremony,” Welling said. “It’s a large volume with many people coming here, so we’ve spent a lot of time with the transport people trying to understand how it will affect that infrastructure and whatnot.”
Ten countries will compete across the three disciplines of men’s, women’s and mixed doubles curling. A total of 120 quotas (60 per gender) are allocated, however athletes can compete in both men’s/women’s and mixed doubles provided that their nation has qualified and the athlete is nominated for both events by their NOC.
Fourteen nations in total will gather to compete in Italy.
Welling expects one spectacular show out of the fabled Italian winter ski resort which last hosted the Olympic Games 70 years ago, thus creating an energy that will enable the sport to thrive and enthrall fans, both onsite and globally.
“It can get loud in here, and I think it’s going to create a great environment,” said the World Curling boss. “I wasn’t here at the 2010 world championships, but talking to some of the players they said it was hard to hear themselves talk.”
“When you shoot that atmosphere and it shows up on television, that’s going to be super exciting for people watching around the world and not just for the traditional curling fans.
“It will be incredible exposure seeing the environment here – it will be a super fun place that you want to be at. And for the Italians with Stefania and Amos here in their backyard, it’s going to be fantastic.”
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