The Pista olimpica "Eugenio Monti", named after Italy's most celebrated bobsledder with six Olympic medals, including two gold, has not been used for 11 years and will need a major upgrade if it is to be used if Milan and Cortina win their joint bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC), aware of the criticism they have received due to the escalating costs of the Winter Games, have encouraged bid cities not to spend lavishly on facilities and had suggested privately to Milan Cortina 2026 they investigate the possibility of using the track at St. Moritz, 300 kilometres away.

But Italian officials have claimed that an upgrade was planned irrespective of whether they were awarded the Winter Olympic Games or not.

Cortina's Mayor Gianpietro Ghedina had even made it part of his election campaign to renovate the track.

"We are obliged to rebuild the track," Malagò said.

"The history, the tradition of the track titled to Eugenio Monti, not only a Olympic gold medallist but a symbol of fair play in Olympic history."

Monti was awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal at the 1964 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck after helping his British rivals in the two-man bob and the Canadians in the four-man to gold medals ahead of Italy after aiding them with parts and mechanical help.

"Cortina is the only city in Italy that can guarantee for the whole period of the year to use this track with touristic activity," Malagò added.

"I think it is a good investment. 

"For us this is not  a problem but additional value."

The IOC Evaluation Commission - led by Romania's Octavian Morariu - visited the track during the first of its five-day inspection tour before moving to Cortina's airport, built for the 1956 Winter Olympics but subsequently closed 20 years later and on which it is planned to build an Athletes' Village if the Games return in 2026. 

Christophe Dubi, the IOC's executive director for the Olympic Games, appeared comfortable with the assurances from Italian officials that the track is not dependent on Milan Cortina 2026 winning its bid and that it has a long-term legacy benefit. 

"We are very clear that there are enough tracks around the globe, and the two federations are very clear as well," he said.

"This is considered though as an existing track obviously which will be rebuilt.

"Two things we have to do. 

"The first one is to look at the budget in detail, and also have other reference to make sure that these numbers can be verified including on our side.  

"But also one question is regarding the development of this track, and that is not dependent on the Games, and that is very important.

"The Mayor was very clear as well, he ran his election also on the fact that the track would be renovated, so it’s not linked to the Games, its actually a need for the region,"

 The track, located in Ronco, a village near Cortina on the Dolomite Road, has a history which stretches back to 1923 when it was first opened.

It has undergone several major renovations during its history, including for the 1956 Winter Olympic Games which Cortina hosted. 

Switzerland won the gold medal in the four-man ahead of Italy, whose team were piloted by Monti, and the United States.

The host country triumphed in the two-man, beating the second Italian bob and Switzerland. 

It has also hosted the World Championships in 1937, 1950, 1954, 1960, 1966, 1981, 1989 and 1999.

The Championships in 1966 were abandoned when West Germany's Toni Pensperger was killed during the four-man event, leading to big safety changes.

There was also tragedy at the 1981 World Championships when American James Morgan died after a crash in the four-man event. 

The week following the 1981 World Championships, the track was filmed as part of the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only and one of the the stuntmen on the movie, Paolo Rigon, was killed during the first day of filming.

The track was awarded the 2011 World Championships in 2007 over Winterberg in Germany and was supposed to have undergone homologation to involve skeleton. 

Problems over funding, however, meant this was never carried out and the Championships were re-allocated to Königssee in Germany.