The 2026 Games have utilised upgraded venues and multi-use developments designed for long-term community use.
This year's Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics have been the most geographically dispersed Winter Games in Olympic history, with venues split between Milan and the mountain resort towns of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Livigno and Predazzo.
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From the outset, organisers framed the Games as an opportunity to prioritise sustainability, aiming to minimise the environmental footprint by leveraging existing facilities and limiting new construction.
As the competition draws to a close, attention is turning to the legacy they will leave on Italy's infrastructure.
New developments serve long-term community and tourism needs
The multi-city model was designed by organisers and endorsed by the International Olympic Committee to maximise the use of existing facilities, while targeting infrastructure investment where it was most needed, with a strong emphasis on post-Games functionality.
In Cortina, long established as a World Cup alpine skiing venue, the Games have accelerated upgrades to transport links, public spaces and sports facilities.
The IOC has said the strategy focuses on modernising existing infrastructure and ensuring that new developments serve long-term community and tourism needs, rather than creating standalone Olympic sites with limited future use.
Cortina reinforced as winter sports hub – but climate change casts a shadow
Cortina’s mayor Gianluca Lorenzi says the most significant legacy will be felt in everyday infrastructure.
"So better roads, better facilities, the new ski lift, this is something that is enjoyed directly by citizens but also by those who come to Cortina," he says.
He adds that the Games have reinforced Cortina’s position as a winter sports hub, expanding beyond alpine skiing to include sliding disciplines.
One of the most significant bespoke projects in the mountain cluster is the new Cortina Sliding Centre, built to host bobsleigh, skeleton and luge.
The IOC has confirmed that the track is intended to remain as an international level sliding venue after the Games, replacing the historic Eugenio Monti track and aiming to secure future World Cup and championship events in the region.
But even with careful planning, climate change is reshaping the viability of winter sports –both as a competitive and a tourist activity. Winters are growing shorter and milder, with less consistent heavy snowfall in Europe and beyond, forcing reliance on artificial snow and potentially limiting the lifespan of such investments.
Increased tourism, while economically beneficial in the short-term, is likely to drive up the country's carbon footprint.
Urban development in Milan
In Milan, the Games' legacy centres on urban redevelopment.
The Olympic Village has been constructed in the Porta Romana area on the site of a former railway yard, as part of a wider regeneration project that predates the Games but was accelerated by the Olympic timeline.
During the Games, the complex houses athletes in purpose-built residential blocks, with each designed to be converted after 2026.
The IOC has confirmed that once the Games conclude, the Village will be transformed into student housing and residential accommodation.
Thousands of beds will be allocated primarily to university students, addressing long-standing demand in a city that hosts major institutions such as Bocconi University, the University of Milan and Politecnico di Milano.
The development also includes public green spaces, services and mixed-use buildings intended to integrate the area into the surrounding neighbourhood. Despite some critiques of its brutalist aesthetic, the project aims to avoid the fate of past Olympic compounds that became costly, unused developments.
Dino Ruta, professor of Sports and Events Business at Bocconi University, says the success of that conversion will be critical to domestic perceptions of the Games’ legacy.
Another key facility, the 16,000-capacity Arena Santa Giulia, hosted Olympic ice hockey and will transform into a flexible events space for concerts, sports, conventions and shows.
Its location near the Rogoredo transport hub and a metro line has been highlighted as part of a broader strategy to redevelop the Santa Giulia district into a mixed residential and commercial area.
Unlike some previous Olympic venues that were built with a single sport in mind, the arena has been designed from the outset for use across multiple sectors throughout the year.
Sustainable investment over a construction boom
Elsewhere across the Games footprint, organisers have relied heavily on existing or upgraded facilities, reducing new construction and associated emissions.
In Milan, the Mediolanum Forum in Assago, long used for basketball, concerts and figure skating, has hosted Olympic events with temporary adaptations.
In the mountain venues, established ski slopes and ice rinks have been modernised to meet Olympic standards, with upgrades focused on safety, technology and spectator capacity rather than entirely new construction.
For Ruta, however, legacy is not solely material.
"The Games are very much inspirational. The five rings, the six colours of the Olympic flag, that’s something that people will remember forever," he said.
Still, the Games’ environmental impact is under scrutiny. Winter sports inherently demand energy-intensive snowmaking and infrastructure, and as climate change accelerates, the long-term sustainability of future Olympics in mountain regions is increasingly uncertain.
Organisers hope that Milan-Cortina sets a precedent, demonstrating that careful planning and multi-purpose infrastructure can minimise emissions while maximising community benefit.
As the competition approaches its final days in the snow-covered Dolomites, and in Milan’s new arenas, the ultimate measure of legacy will not be the scale of the facilities alone, but whether they remain active, environmentally responsible, financially viable, and accessible to residents long after the Olympic flame is extinguished.
