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02/05 08:27 CST After questions and concerns, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are ready to go as a new era arrives After questions and concerns, the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are ready to go as a new era arrives By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) --- Will there be an Olympic spirit or will it seem like a bunch of individual world championships? Will a complicated transport network connecting far-flung venues run smoothly? Will crowds fill the arenas, rinks and stadiums despite sluggish advance ticket sales? Will the controversial sliding venue and main hockey arena feel finished following construction delays? Will the locals remain more interested in soccer than snow and ice sports? The answers to these and many other questions that shadowed the preparation of the Milan Cortina Olympics are about to be answered. When the XXV Winter Games kick off with the opening ceremony at the San Siro soccer stadium on Friday, it won't just be the athletes who are going to be tested. It's a new era for the entire Olympic movement. Spread out over a vast swath of northern Italy, these Olympics are the first to truly embrace the International Olympic Committee's reform plan of using existing venues no matter how far apart they are. Skating sports --- including the return of NHL hockey players to the Olympics after more than a decade --- will be held in Milan; women's Alpine skiing, sliding and curling in Cortina d'Ampezzo; Nordic sports in Val di Fiemme; men's Alpine skiing and ski mountaineering in Bormio; snowboarding and freestyle in Livigno; and biathlon in Anterselva. In all, this Olympic footprint covers an area of more than 22,000 square kilometres (nearly 10,000 square miles). That's about the size of the state of Massachusetts. "I do believe that we took the right decision in having a more dispersed games," new IOC President Kirsty Coventry said. "But it has --- and I think we can all say very openly and honestly --- it has added additional complexities." Complexities that Olympic organizers are going to have to get used to because this is the first of several Winter Games arranged with the same model. The 2030 French Alps Games don't even have a host city in its name. Same for Utah in 2034; and probably for a Switzerland bid -- the only candidate -- for 2038, too. "It's a much greater conversation," Coventry said of assessing pros and cons of the new model. "I think initially, we all thought, ?Oh, well, we'll just have it be a little bit more dispersed, because that's more sustainable.'"

Opening ceremony also to be spread around different areas Adapting to the new model extends beyond the competition. The opening ceremony will also be spread over multiple locations, with athlete parades held simultaneously in Milan, Cortina, Livigno and Val di Fiemme. There will be two cauldrons lit, one in Milan and another in Cortina. Former Olympic champion skiers Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni are the favorites to light the cauldrons in Milan and Cortina, respectively.

Lindsey Vonn: ?It would have been more fun if we were all closer' American skiing standout Lindsey Vonn, competing in her fifth Olympics, has mixed feelings about the new formula. "I mean, I'm in Cortina, so there's really nothing to complain about. I'm very happy being here. It's one of the most beautiful places in the world. But it is sad to not be closer to more of your teammates, not just in ski racing, but in any sport," said Vonn, who plans to race depite a torn ACL in her left knee. "Salt Lake City was my favorite Olympics because we were all so close to each other. Almost everyone was in the Olympic Village in Salt Lake and this is quite different," said Vonn, referring to the 2002 Games. "A lot of the girls (teammates) were talking about wanting to watch hockey, but it's difficult. ... Obviously you can't choose that geography and where the mountains are, but I think it would have been more fun if we were all closer."

Construction goes down to the wire

The sliding center in Cortina was rebuilt against the wishes of the IOC, which preferred using an existing venue for bobsled, luge and skeleton in nearby Switzerland or Austria. The sliding track itself is finished, tested and ready. But surrounding areas of the track are still under construction. Fortunately for organizers, it has snowed all week in Cortina. "Obviously outside (the track) there are still some little things," Italian luger Dominik Fischnaller said. "But the snow will cover it, so we're good for the Games." A gondola lift to the Alpine skiing center in Cortina also remains unfinished, which will slow the access of spectators to the races. Construction of the main hockey arena in Milan --- which features a smaller sheet of ice than usual --- went right down to the final hours (hockey began play Thursday) and there is still much work to be done. "Understanding that the Olympics is a massive event that kind of pops up for a very finite amount of time, there's going to different challenges you have to overcome," U.S. women's hockey captain Hilary Knight said. "So whether the ice is perfect or not, we're here, we're ready to play." ___ AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this report. ___ AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics