Olympians Competing in Cortina Will Stay in a Trailer Park of Mobile Homes During 2026 Milan Games

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

NEED TO KNOW

• Mobile homes are set to house about 1,400 Winter Olympics athletes

• 377 temporary buildings, located near Cortina, will serve as one of two Olympic villages for the Milan Olympics

• Norway has already opted out of the "simple and spartan" accommodations

With less than 70 days to go before the Milan OIympics, it’s not just the athletes who are beginning to draw notice.

Nestled in the Dolomites near the town of Cortina are 377 rented mobile homes — which will become home to 1,400 athletes and other team members, according to the Associated Press.

The site is one of two Olympic Villages in the games (with the other being in Milan, about five hours away by car), and will be the home base for alpine skiers, as well as bobsled, curling and skeleton competitors.

“The beauty of a Village like this lies in the fact that everything will be removed afterward,” Fabio Saldini, the Italian government commissioner overseeing infrastructure for the games, told the AP. “Nothing is permanent; the environment will not return to its previous state but will be improved. This is a temporary village, but of high design.”

The mobile homes are described as “simple and spartan,” but have unparalleled views of the mountains, Saldini said.

Paralympians will also take advantage of the Village, which is about a 10-minute drive north of Cortina. The Paralympics will be held from March 6th to 15th.

“It’s located in a very quiet area of Cortina, where you have the opportunity to hear the sound of the mountains, isolate yourself if you wish, concentrate if you desire, or go out for a pleasant workout,” Saldini said.

AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Already, the country of Norway has chosen to opt out of the housing accommodations, the AP reported.

Other notable U.S. athletes, such as Lindsey Vonn and Mikaela Schiffrin, are not likely to stay in the Village, the outlet speculated.

Vonn spoke to PEOPLE last year about the importance of the Olympic Village — and vowed to do what she can to help families of athletes too, in her role as a member of the committee which is bringing the Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City in 2034.

“It’s just going to make life so much easier for everyone involved,” she told PEOPLE. “I mean, my family, even in Salt Lake 2002, my family had a hard time finding a place to stay. You think of how many people are coming into that city to spectate, where are the families going to go? They can't pay a premium on the big hotels. My family stayed at my second cousin's house in Salt Lake City and slept on the floor.” 

Read the original article on People