ROME — Construction of the main hockey arena is still not complete. Spectator and media areas need to be completed at the controversial sliding site.
With exactly two months to go until the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, there is another key area that local organizers are focusing on: just over half of the 1.5 million tickets for the Games have been sold.
As the torch relay began in Rome on Saturday, just over 850,000 tickets had been sold.
While sales abroad are in line with expectations, interest among Italians remains low.
Andrea Vernier, CEO of the local organizing committee, told The Associated Press before the relay began, “This is normal. There is a growing interest from local fans and I think the start of the torch relay will be a very important moment for people to realize this.”
Last week’s Black Friday promotion included 20% off tickets for three days. And buyers of both Olympic and Paralympic tickets have the chance to get a lift pass valid at every ski area in Lombardy for $9 between December 9-22.
This week, more tickets were put on sale for the opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium on February 6 and the men’s hockey gold medal game in Milan on February 22.
“We had some tickets on the market a few days ago and they sold out in a matter of hours,” Vernier said. “So there’s interest in that.”
If past priorities are any indicator, the atmosphere at the 2006 Turin Winter Games was memorable – the last time Italy hosted the Olympics.
Still, organizers may have expected greater demand after the last Winter Games in Beijing in 2022 was held mostly without fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vernier said sales have been strong at the recently opened Milan Cortina store opposite the city’s cathedral, Piazza del Duomo.
“People are actually going in and buying our stuff, which is a good sign,” he said.
As for the Santagiulia ice hockey arena – the new, 16,000-seat venue on the outskirts of Milan – testing scheduled for next week had to be pushed back to January.
“We were aware of the hockey arena delays and we’ve been dealing with it, but now we’re following the right pace,” Vernier said. “It has to be ready.”
Next week, the secondary hockey venue set up at the Ro Fiera Convention Center will be tested by hosting U-20 World Championship games.
The Games will be held across a large part of northern Italy, and athlete parades for the opening ceremony will be held simultaneously in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno and Predazzo, in addition to Milan.
“It’s quite an effort. It’s a first,” Vernier said. “It is a very important message that the athletes are also living in mountain villages to be able to participate in the ceremony. This was very well received by the NOC.” [National Olympic Committees],,,Also, the communities are very happy to be a part of the celebrations in their towns,”
