Organizers weigh Paris or Lyon for ice hockey after Nice impasse

[AP Photo]

French organizers of the 2030 Winter Olympics are looking at alternative locations for ice hockey outside of Nice, including in Paris and Lyon, because of a political deadlock involving the Riviera city’s new mayor.

Like the Milan Cortina Olympics, the French Alps project has split snow sports in storied mountain resorts and skating in a snow-free city, the Mediterranean resort of Nice.

Nice was to turn the city’s soccer stadium, Allianz Arena, into a temporary hockey rink.

But Nice far-right new mayor Eric Ciotti opposes the plan, refusing that the resident football club lose access to its stadium for months because of the Olympics. Ciotti, a former conservative allied with the National Rally of Marine Le Pen, was elected last month.

The 2030 Games organizers said on Tuesday they have worked with officials from Nice and its wider region as well as the French government to find solutions for placing ice hockey within the Olympic hub in Nice. A temporary ice rink, intended as a replacement for the originally planned Allianz Riviera stadium, was studied at other stadiums, mainly for men’s hockey matches.

“Technical, scheduling, and financial analyses highlighted the limitations of these options, particularly due to their very high cost and impact,” organizers added.

“With a focus on efficiency and budget optimization, the (organizing committee) has decided to broaden its investigations by examining the use of existing facilities in other major metropolitan areas such as Lyon or Paris, particularly those offering a minimum seating capacity of 10,000,” they added.

Results of their explorations will be presented to the organizing committee’s executive board on May 11. The final venues are expected to be confirmed in June when the IOC decides the list of sports and events.

“The analyses carried out are leading us to turn toward existing facilities that are better suited and more sustainable. Several options are being studied to ensure hosting conditions that fully meet our requirements,” said Edgar Grospiron, the former Olympic champion freestyle skier who leads the organizing committee. MDT/AP