MILAN -- Organizers of next year's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics announced an operating budget of "about 1.7 billion euros" ($1.9 billion) on Thursday, a 100 million euro ($112 million) increase from the previously stated amount.
The budget does not include construction of competition venues such as the 118 million euro ($131 million) sliding center in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the new Santa Giulia ice hockey arena in Milan, which could cost nearly 300 million euros ($330 million), nor big infrastructure projects involving roads and railways.
The International Olympic Committee will also contribute about $1 billion in additional funding for the Feb. 6-22 Games, while the Italian government is funding more than $1 billion in infrastructure development to improve access to venues.
Unlike recent Winter Games in Sochi (2014), Pyeongchang (2018) and Beijing (2022), most of the 2026 venues are in place and have been used for years for World Cups and world championships.
Russia reportedly spent $51 billion on the 2014 Sochi Games, a price tag that is expected to stand as an Olympic record for many years.
The operating budget for the 2022 Beijing Games was estimated at about $4 billion.
