NICE — Organisers of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps are considering alternative locations for ice hockey outside Nice, including Paris and Lyon, after newly elected Nice mayor Eric Ciotti opposed plans to convert the city's Allianz Arena into a temporary rink. Ciotti has refused to allow the resident football club to lose access to the stadium for months because of the Games.

The French Alps project, like the Milan Cortina Olympics, splits snow sports in mountain resorts and skating in the snow-free city of Nice. Nice had planned to convert Allianz Arena, its football stadium, into a temporary hockey rink for the event.

Ciotti, a former conservative ally of Marine Le Pen's National Rally party, was elected last month. The 2030 Games organising committee has worked with officials from Nice, its wider region, and the French government to find solutions for placing ice hockey within the Olympic hub in the city. The committee studied installing a temporary ice rink at other stadiums to replace the originally planned venue, mainly for men's hockey matches.

An organising committee statement said: "Technical, scheduling, and financial analyses showed the limitations of these options, particularly due to their very high cost and impact. With a focus on efficiency and budget optimisation, the (organising committee) has decided to broaden its investigations by examining the use of existing facilities in other major metropolitan areas such as Lyon or Paris, particularly those offering a minimum seating capacity of 10,000."

The Paris Entertainment Company, which operates Adidas Arena and Accor Arena, submitted a bid to host ice hockey at the 2030 Winter Olympics. Both venues were used during the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

Edgar Grospiron, a former Olympic champion freestyle skier who leads the organising committee, said the search had shifted toward established sites. "The analyses carried out are leading us to turn towards existing facilities that are better suited and more sustainable. Several options are being studied to ensure hosting conditions that fully meet our requirements," he said.

The organising committee will present the results of venue explorations to its executive board on May 11. The International Olympic Committee is expected to confirm the final venues in June when it decides the list of sports and events. A second competition ice rink for skating is planned at Nice's exhibition centre, and other ice events scheduled in Nice remain unchanged.