Venues - Alpes françaises 2030

[sebastien1214]

Thialf from Heerenveen is currently the frontrunner and has a high chance of being chosen.

https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/10/20/jo-2030-l-anneau-de-vitesse-en-italie-ou-aux-pays-bas-choix-de-raison-financier-ou-decision-politique_6648217_3242.html

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In exchange for the Thialf, they (the Dutch) would offer to make their facilities available to French skaters for the next two or three Winter Olympics. Ideal with the 2030 Games in mind. Competing against the best on the future Olympic track would be "the opportunity of a lifetime," argues Ludovic Royé, the national technical director of the French Roller and Skateboard Federation, which took over the speed skating delegation in 2023. "It would be a fantastic performance accelerator (...) Heerenveen is the best there is. The Dutch would pay for everything and would have a legacy plan for the French. It would be absurd to look elsewhere," argues the sports official.

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Even Renaud Muselier, a supporter of the Italian option in the name of geographical coherence and the ties that bind his region to Piedmont, seems to have resigned himself to the situation. "Italy is right next door to me, it's the Alps. But if it's going to cost money in Italy, we might as well make it in the Netherlands," admitted the president (Renaissance) of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region.

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The financial criterion will be paramount, but so will the "best offer in terms of a popular festival and respect for environmental standards." In a context of budgetary restraint, everything points to Thialf Oval in Heerenveen. Unless, of course, politics intervenes in the final stretch.

 

[AustralianFan]

32 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

Thialf from Heerenveen is currently the frontrunner and has a high chance of being chosen.

https://www.lemonde.fr/sport/article/2025/10/20/jo-2030-l-anneau-de-vitesse-en-italie-ou-aux-pays-bas-choix-de-raison-financier-ou-decision-politique_6648217_3242.html

 

Thialf at Heerenveen, Netherlands, does look like a very impressive venue indeed.

Image credit: inlineskatecentreheerenveen.wordpress

 

Image credit: Eurotruss.com

 

[baron-pierreIV]

Kinda claustrophobic and low ceiling.  And what atmosphere can this Heerevenen town in Holland offer?? 

[StefanMUC]

6 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

Kinda claustrophobic and low ceiling.  And what atmosphere can this Heerevenen town in Holland offer?? 

Tell me you know nothing about speed skating without telling me you know nothing about speed skating.

Heerenveen is the Wembley of its sport.

[cfm Jeremie]

9 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

 

Edited November 29, 2025 by cfm Jeremie
Already addressed by other members

[AustralianFan]

5 hours ago, cfm Jeremie said:

 

your edited post makes no sense 

[cfm Jeremie]

1 hour ago, AustralianFan said:

your edited post makes no sense 

Ok let me explain it to you: I initially wrote that your post about Torino being THE venue abroad for Speed Skating was uncorrect (wasn't the first time, won't be the last) but then realised that Sebastien and Stefan had already explained that Thialf was the most likely choice.

Hence, I edited my post so as not to duplicate information (unlike some other members who seem to love posting the same thing over and over again) explaining "Already addressed by other members"...

Clear enough for you? 

[baron-pierreIV]

16 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

Heerenveen is the Wembley of its sport.

OK; but the main festival is hundreds of miles away in Provence, so . . . As if Tahiti weren't weird enuf last year -- but at least, it was under the same flag.  I mean, why bother having Olympic host cities if you are going to spread them out to other locations where world championships are held year in and year out??  What's the point?? 

Where did Albertville stage its Long-track Speedskating?? 

Edited November 29, 2025 by baron-pierreIV

[StefanMUC]

32 minutes ago, baron-pierreIV said:

OK; but the main festival is hundreds of miles away in Lombardy and the Dolomites, so . . . As if Tahiti weren't weird enuf last year -- but at least, it was under the same flag.  I mean, why bother having Olympic cities if you are going to spread them out to other locations where world championships are held year in and year out??  What's the point?? 

The cost is the point. France has no real speed skating tradition/interest (Sebastien et al can correct me on this) which would justify the price tag that even a temporary venue would come up with, especially at times where everyone is talking about (financial) sustainability of the Games. And if the Dutch are willing to take the organisation costs, given they‘ll never host the full Winter Olympics anyway, probably fine for all involved. See it as a 1956 scenario in modern times for different reasons.

[Cyriln]

28 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

France has no real speed skating tradition/interest (Sebastien et al can correct me on this)

Up to now, we only had a few athletes, mainly roller skating athletes (speed skating is now supervised by the French roller skating and skateboard federation), and they were not enough to justify having a permanent oval. But a promising generation is coming.

[sebastien1214]

And anyway, while the Netherlands is certainly further from the French Alps than Italy, it's also quite close to northern France (Heerenveen is only 400km from Lille), so you could say that it also allows us to give a few crumbs of these winter games to the French who live in the north of the country (since the Netherlands will still be closer than Nice, Albertville, etc.).

[AustralianFan]

15 hours ago, StefanMUC said:

Heerenveen is the Wembley of its sport.

Indeed it is.

Thialf, Heerenveen, has hosted the ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships more than any other venue in the world in 1985, 1989, 1996, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2019 and 2023.

It has also hosted the European Speed Skating Championships in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2020-2022, 2024 and 2025.

 

[stryker]

15 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

OK; but the main festival is hundreds of miles away in Provence, so . . . As if Tahiti weren't weird enuf last year -- but at least, it was under the same flag.  I mean, why bother having Olympic host cities if you are going to spread them out to other locations where world championships are held year in and year out??  What's the point?? 

Where did Albertville stage its Long-track Speedskating?? 

Albertville staged the speed skating at an outdoor oval (the last WOGs to do so). Today stadium serves as an athletics stadium - L`anneau de vitesse. If I am not mistaken, a covered and climate-controlled oval is now a requirement which is a shame because it increases costs significantly.

[baron-pierreIV]

8 hours ago, stryker said:

 a covered and climate-controlled oval is now a requirement which is a shame because it increases costs significantly.

It shouldn't really be that expensive.  First, they have to find a large plot of land where it doesn't snow.  That's the main cause of an expensive venue -- to have a roof that can sustain a heavy snowfall.  But if they locate in a place, like -- hint, hint -- NICE where it doesn't snow, then they just need a few posts to support a not very expensive roof but with girders that can provide the necessary TV lighting.  And like other venues, most of the seating can be temporary and reduced afterwards.  It only becomes expensive if it's placed in a heavy SNOWFALL area, thus requiring extra strong steel girders and deeper-set vertical posts to support a large, strong roof.  

Edited November 30, 2025 by baron-pierreIV

[baron-pierreIV]

How about Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille?  It can be enclosed; they converted it to host basketball (or was it Handball?) last year?  Pity not to use such a versatile stadium.  It's in Lille-- without the "hammer."  😀

(2) Video | Facebook

Edited November 30, 2025 by baron-pierreIV

[cfm Jeremie]

You cannot fit a speed skating track on a football field footprint: it is too small (in theory, I imagine you could build a platform but it would have to be quite high, killing a lot of seats).

Again, why not use an existing venue (especially if this one is considered as the speed skating Wembley)? It has been the preferred option from Day 1 as stated in the Future Host Commission report.

[baron-pierreIV]

8 minutes ago, cfm Jeremie said:

You cannot fit a speed skating track on a football field footprint: it is too small (in theory, I imagine you could build a platform but it would have to be quite high, killing a lot of seats).

Would the SS track be larger than the football field?  But see at Pierre Mauroy, don't the ringside seats retract?  So, no need to build a platform.  Just retract some seats.  I am sure the field at Mauroy can handle a SS track easily.   But at least, it's still in France.  

[sebastien1214]

The other issue with the Lille stadium, which in my opinion is even more problematic than what has already been raised by Jeremie, is that it's a stadium used by LOSC (the local football club). It would likely require 2-3 months of occupancy during which LOSC wouldn't be able to play at their home stadium, and we'll be in the middle of the league season, possibly even European competitions. I absolutely cannot see LOSC and the city of Lille accepting this, especially since the Games aren't even being held in their city. (This wasn't an issue for Paris 2024, since it was in the middle of summer.)

[baron-pierreIV]

15 minutes ago, sebastien1214 said:

The other issue with the Lille stadium, which in my opinion is even more problematic than what has already been raised by Jeremie, is that it's a stadium used by LOSC (the local football club). It would likely require 2-3 months of occupancy during which LOSC wouldn't be able to play at their home stadium, and we'll be in the middle of the league season, possibly even European competitions. I absolutely cannot see LOSC and the city of Lille accepting this, especially since the Games aren't even being held in their city. (This wasn't an issue for Paris 2024, since it was in the middle of summer.)

OK, capisce.  

[baron-pierreIV]

Where is Curling slated for?? 

[yoshi]

23 hours ago, sebastien1214 said:

The other issue with the Lille stadium, which in my opinion is even more problematic than what has already been raised by Jeremie, is that it's a stadium used by LOSC (the local football club). It would likely require 2-3 months of occupancy during which LOSC wouldn't be able to play at their home stadium, and we'll be in the middle of the league season, possibly even European competitions. I absolutely cannot see LOSC and the city of Lille accepting this, especially since the Games aren't even being held in their city. (This wasn't an issue for Paris 2024, since it was in the middle of summer.)

Obviously speed skating in Lille wouldn't work but there's an interesting point here... what do Nice make of having their stadium taken over, temporarily given a roof & being turned into two ice rinks in the middle of the season? Not something I'd expect many self respecting football clubs to accept...

[baron-pierreIV]

32 minutes ago, yoshi said:

Obviously speed skating in Lille wouldn't work but there's an interesting point here... what do Nice make of having their stadium taken over, temporarily given a roof & being turned into two ice rinks in the middle of the season? Not something I'd expect many self respecting football clubs to accept...

Eh.  It's a harmless re-use.  It's NOT like they're tearing down major walls or whole sections.  It's an INNOVATIVE move -- and you get 2 temporary venues for the price of one.  Otherwise, what else would the Allianz Reliant be doing in February 2030?? 🤨

[cfm Jeremie]

54 minutes ago, yoshi said:

Obviously speed skating in Lille wouldn't work but there's an interesting point here... what do Nice make of having their stadium taken over, temporarily given a roof & being turned into two ice rinks in the middle of the season? Not something I'd expect many self respecting football clubs to accept...

The venue exclusive use for a few months is going to be expensive for sure as the Nice Football Club will (probably rightly so) claim that moving home games to other stadiums will induce a financial loss on ticketing / hospitality.

[Cyriln]

The cost for the conversion of Allianz Riviera to hockey setup and the compensations for the stadium's concessionaire and OGC Nice is estimated at 80 million €. Of course, these costs are criticized, there are obvious cheaper solutions but once again: these Games are hosted by TWO regions that were forced to ally, none of them will accept the other one to have more events.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2025/11/19/for-the-2030-olympics-nice-is-planning-ice-rinks-amid-controversy_6747595_9.html

I don't worry for OGC Nice: even if their stadium should be unavailable for 4 to 6 months, there are other stadiums available closely (Monaco, Marseille, Toulon's rugby stadium). They should be ashamed of their European results instead...

[yoshi]

1 hour ago, Cyriln said:

The cost for the conversion of Allianz Riviera to hockey setup and the compensations for the stadium's concessionaire and OGC Nice is estimated at 80 million €. Of course, these costs are criticized, there are obvious cheaper solutions but once again: these Games are hosted by TWO regions that were forced to ally, none of them will accept the other one to have more events.

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/sports/article/2025/11/19/for-the-2030-olympics-nice-is-planning-ice-rinks-amid-controversy_6747595_9.html

I don't worry for OGC Nice: even if their stadium should be unavailable for 4 to 6 months, there are other stadiums available closely (Monaco, Marseille, Toulon's rugby stadium). They should be ashamed of their European results instead...

So another problem caused by how it seems that Rhone Alpes has all the required venues, but PACA appears to be the one funding it. I don't know the exact scope but I'd have thought the process of putting a roof on the stadium, dividing it, & getting two ice rinks set up would be more than even 6 months - I can't imagine Nice will get to play at home in the 29/30 season. It's a very imaginative & clever solution for sure, but more helpful if the stadium is already primed for it - maybe Lille had it right all along