The CEO of the organizing committee, Andrea Varnier, noted that the preparation budget has increased several times. While in 2019, at the application stage, expenses were estimated at $1.3 billion, by the time of the Games' opening, the operational budget had already reached $1.7 billion. The majority of the expenses fell on the state budget: investments in infrastructure, including new sports facilities and roads, amounted to an additional $3.5 billion.
Organizers acknowledged that the preparation for the Games turned out to be more complicated than anticipated. One of the main challenges was the construction of the bobsleigh and luge track in Cortina.
Despite the recommendations from the International Olympic Committee to use existing sports facilities in neighboring countries such as Austria or Switzerland, Italy insisted on the necessity of building its own center, the cost of which increased from 50 to 120 million euros. At the same time, the construction of the Santa Giulia hockey arena in Milan was carried out in emergency mode and was completed just a few weeks before the start of the competitions.
