CORTINA D’AMPEZZO – Kids drive miniature race cars, play ping-pong and climb on jungle gyms, while parents step inside the Stadium Bar for Italian espressos and paninis.
All of these activities taking place on a sun-drenched summer afternoon in the scenic Italian Dolomites, just steps from Cortina d’Ampezzo’s historic 1956 Olympic Ice Stadium (Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio in Italian). Inside the doors, preparations continue for the Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
Near the front entrance is one of two large congratulatory signs honoring Beijing 2022 Olympic gold medallist and Cortina local Stefania Constantini. The sign is courtesy of the Curling Club Dolomiti. It is presently obstructed by crates and a tractor.
With the Winter Olympics returning to the Italian ski resort in less than seven months, work also progresses outside the venue, which will be renamed the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium during Games time.
The largest of the ongoing projects is the construction of 20 new locker rooms for hockey and curling teams. The work is spread across 400 square meters at ice level of the building. It is a necessary upgrade for the Olympics and beyond, replacing the aging sub-level changing rooms. The new ground-level facilities are essential for wheelchair curlers as Italy also hosts the Paralympic Games in March, 12 days after the Olympics conclude.
Home to the 1956 Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, ice hockey and figure skating events, the stadium will be solely dedicated to Olympic curling in February 2026. The striking sports venue opened in 1954 and has withstood the test of time, modernized, yet preserving key historical aspects, particularly most of its original wooden tribune from its previous Winter Games, nearly 70 years ago. The roof and large glass windows on the south side of the former open-air stadium were erected in 2003.
The arena was even used by filmmakers for the 1981 James Bond spy thriller For Your Eyes Only.
The Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium will house a capacity of 3,500 spectators, as 120 athletes compete for medals on four sheets of ice in mixed doubles, and men’s and women’s team events at the Games.
In April, the World Junior Curling Championships were held, serving as an important Olympic test event. The ice, competition venue, and event organization received high marks from the young athletes.
As first tested there, a special adhesive black film will be used to cover the large windows, shielding athletes and ice from sunlight during Olympic competition.
The arena will has recently re-opened as the main ice will once again be used by Cortina’s hockey team. In September, the two adjacent curling sheets will be available to the local club.
On Dec. 9, the venue will be officially handed over to Games organizers. The main ice will be melted. Machinery will then be utilized for work on the roof and the installation of additional lighting and camera positions.
On Jan. 25, technicians – led by Scotland’s Mark Callan – will begin the curling icemaking process. It is expected to be completed within seven to eight days.
The Milano-Cortina 2026 opening ceremony is on Friday, Feb. 8 with mixed doubles curling launching the entire Olympic sports program, hitting the ice two days prior to the lighting of the Olympic Cauldron in Milan.
As the Italian “Tifosi” urge on every stone from local heroine Constantini, ideally, everything will be optimal for 19 spectacular days and nights of Olympic curling. Andiamo Italia, Andiamo!
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