(ATR) Austrian Olympic Committee secretary general Peter Mennel says that officials are doing their due diligence as a feasibility study continues before a final decision on the Innsbruck 2026 Olympic bid is made.
Mennel spoke to Around the Rings at the 77th edition Hahnenkamm ski races in Kitzbuhel, Austria this past weekend. An estimated crowd of 50,000 spectators came out for Saturday’s Hahnenkamm downhill, a testament to the small Alpine country’s passion for ski and winter sport.
"I would say that a decision hasn’t been made yet," Mennel told ATR about the potential bid. "We want to know what we’re going into – now we are making our feasibility study, what it needs, what we have, what are the costs for organizing, for infrastructure, for sports infrastructure, for security and so on.
"I think we will be much more informed at the end of May when the feasibility study will be finished and then the political discussion will begin," he added.
Innsbruck is seeking to host the Winter Olympics for an unprecedented third time as the Games were held in the mountainous Austrian city in 1964 and 1976, in addition to the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in 2012.
Mennel, who also serves as treasurer with the Austrian Ski Federation, said a smart and well-informed decision will be made in time for Innsbruck to submit its official bid to the IOC by the end of 2017.
"We want to fix everything before we go into a race," Mennel said. "We have to be very sure that we can deliver what we propose and we have to be very sure that we can do it."
Mennel stressed that keeping the Winter Games somewhat modest in scale is a top priority.
"One of our ideas is to bring the Olympics back to their roots and make them smaller," said the AOC secretary general. "We will not accept environmental impact, it has to run very smooth, it has to be small and it has to have a legacy for the people living in Tyrol."
"I’m very confident that we can discuss and solve all the challenges and then we want to create under Agenda 2020 a very good package," Mennel said.
Austria is no stranger to hosting major winter sporting events. In addition to the venerable Hahnenkamm races, traditional schedule of World Cup alpine, Nordic and ski jumping, Austria is also hosting the FIL World Luge Championships, Jan. 29-30 in Innsbruck, and the IBU World Biathlon Championships in Hochfilzen beginning Thursday, Jan. 26.
"Winter is very special for Austria – winter tourism is bigger than tourism is in summer and it is an industry that makes a lot of money, but also pays a lot of taxes," Mennel said. "It is very important for us to be successful in winter sports and organize world championships."
In 2019, Seefeld will also host the FIS Nordic world championships.
The feasibility study is estimated to cost $280,000, a decrease from the original projected price tag of $370,000. The study is funded by the AOC, City of Innsbruck and national government.
Innsbruck is expected to face competition from the winning regional bid in Switzerland, Calgary, Canada and a potential Stockholm, Sweden bid.
The IOC will select the host of the 2026 Winter Games at its IOC Session in 2019.
Written by Brian Pinelli in Kitzbuhel.
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