Ice hockey games at the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps could be moved to Paris or Lyon because the new mayor of Nice opposes a temporary venue in the home stadium of a local football club.
The organizing committee said on Tuesday it was broadening its look for a suitable venue to “existing facilities in other major metropolitan areas such as Lyon or Paris” which seat at least 10,000 people.
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A decision could come at a May 11 meeting of the organizing committee’s executive committee.
Organizers had originally planned to use the Allianz Riviera Arena stadium of Ligue 1 football club OGC Nice, mainly for men’s matches, with other games and ice sports also to take place in the Mediterranian city.
But the new Nice mayor, Éric Ciotti, has vetoed the plans because the club should not be barred from playing in its stadium for a lengthy period of time owing to the Olympics.
Two other possible stadiums for a temporary venue in Nice were studied but had limitations, “particularly due to their very high cost and impact,” organizers said.
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Instead, they are now looking at several other options “that are better suited and more sustainable.”
Moving the matches to Lyon or even Paris would make the Games even more spread out which also a source of criticism around this year’s Milan/Cortina Games where the majority of ice sports were held in Milan and the other events across the Italian Alps.
