A proposal has been made for speed skating at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games to be staged at the venue built for Turin 2006 ©Getty Images

Moving the speed skating venue for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from Baselga di Piné to Turin has been formally proposed by Italy's Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Matteo Salvini.

Last November, officials in the Trentino region approved a €50 million (£44 million/$54 million) project to build a roof over the outdoor speed skating oval in Baselga, a comune in Trentino in the Italian region Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.

Following the announcement, Milan Cortina 2026 officials admitted that, although Baselga was included in their original bid document, the International Skating Union preferred an indoor oval.

That led to calls for the sport to be move to the Oval Lingotto, built for the 2006 Winter Olympics when they were held in Turin.

This latest move appears to be part of a bigger plan to have the Piedmont region play a bigger role in Milan Cortina 2026 as doubts persist over whether facilities in Lombardy will be ready in time for the Games.

The speed skating oval at Baselga di Piné is an outdoor venue and the ISU would prefer an indoor arena ©Olympic Hotel
The speed skating oval at Baselga di Piné is an outdoor venue and the ISU would prefer an indoor arena ©Olympic Hotel

"Having a 'plan B' is essential, so today I will bring to the table in the control room of the Lombardy Olympic Games the fact that there is an alternative," Salvini told Italian news agency Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA).

"It is important that there is."

Talks have already been opened about using facilities around Turin, he revealed.

"Last week I met with the President of the Piedmont region, Alberto Cirio, and with the mayor of Turin, Stefano Lo Russo," Salvini told ANSA.

"They are available."

Last week, Giovanni Malagó, President of the Italian National Olympic Committee, revealed that he planned to approach Piedmont about getting involved in Milan Cortina 2026.

Attilio Fontana, President of the Lombardy region, which includes Milan, has claimed that "things are progressing in an absolutely linear, perfect and timely manner" for the Games.

The sliding track built for the 2006 Winter Olympics was closed in 2012 but has recently been used as a training venue ©Getty Images
The sliding track built for the 2006 Winter Olympics was closed in 2012 but has recently been used as a training venue ©Getty Images

There also remains doubts over the future of the Eugenio Monti sliding track in Cortina.

Town councillors last month approved plans to demolish the current track built for the 1956 Winter Olympics, but it has been closed since 2008.

Plans have been launched replace it with a new state-of-the-art €80 million (£70 million/$86 million) facility to stage bobsleigh, luge and skeleton, but there is opposition to the amount it will cost during a cost-of-living crisis.

Cesana Pariol, in Piedmont, staged the sliding events and was shut in 2012, but was continued to be used as a training venue.