The International Olympic Committee (IOC) finalized Tuesday the venue locations proposed by Sochi 2014 in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountain Cluster, following a decision to relocate some of the sites because of environmental considerations.
Reductions in rail and highway links have been approved. According to the Associated Press a light-rail system linking the venues for snow and ice sports will be cut from two tracks to one, and a highway between the sites will have three lanes instead of four.
The decision on the venues came during a Project Review meeting in Moscow attended by IOC Coordination Commission Chairman Jean Claude Killy and IOC Executive Director Gilbert Felli.
Felli is quoted in Ria Novisti Tuesday saying, “we have gratefully accepted the proposal”.
Dmitry Chernyshenko, President and CEO of Sochi 2014, said in a press release, “the Sochi 2014 proposal is unique because the Mountain Cluster in Sochi is one of the most compact in the history of the Winter Games. It proves that the decision to relocate the Games venues was absolutely right. Moreover, it will actually result in a reduction in our budget”.
The Associated Press reports the changes were proposed in June by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as part of a series of adjustments made in response to criticism by environmentalists.
