Paris offers to host 2030 Winter Games ice hockey after Nice mayor opposes Olympic plan

A cyclist rides past the Adidas Arena, April 18, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

PARIS — Olympic Games events could return to Paris as soon as 2030.

The Paris Entertainment Company, which operates the Adidas Arena and Accor Arena in the French capital, told The Associated Press on Thursday it has submitted a bid to host ice hockey during the 2030 Winter Games to be held in France.

Both venues were used during the 2024 Paris Summer Games and could serve as alternative solutions because the new Nice mayor, Eric Ciotti, opposes ice hockey events at Nice soccer stadium, the Allianz Arena, which would be converted into a temporary hockey rink.

Like the Milan Cortina Olympics, the French Alps has split snow sports in storied mountain resorts and skating in a snow-free city, the French Riviera resort Nice. The final venues will be confirmed in June when the IOC decides the list of sports and events.

Ciotti, a former conservative allied with the National Rally of Marine Le Pen, was elected in March.

Asked about the ice hockey deadlock in Nice, sports minister Marina Ferrari said on Thursday she was working with 2030 Games organizers to determine whether alternative solutions were available in Nice or elsewhere.

“Our responsibility now is to begin preparing alternative scenarios in case we encounter difficulties,” she said. “At this point we are exploring all options, I could not be clearer.”

The 2030 French Alps Olympics has been hit by turmoil in recent months. Tensions have multiplied against a backdrop of resignations, culminating in open conflict between Edgar Grospiron, the former Olympic champion freestyle skier who leads the organizing committee, and chief executive officer Cyril Linette.

Their feud and other problems have weakened the project, and Linette’s departure was acknowledged in February. That followed the resignations of chief operating officer Anne Murac, communications director Arthur Richer, and the departure of Bertrand Méheut, who was in charge of the remuneration committee.

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Samuel Petrequin, The Associated Press