Hockey Pullout Threatened for ’92 Games

Hockey could pull out of the 1992 Winter Olympics if a controversy over playing facilities is not settled with the French organizers, the International Ice Hockey Federation said today.

“It’s possible that we won’t take part in the Olympic tournament,” Gunther Sabetzki, president of the IIHF, told a news conference.

“We are not prepared to have the Olympic tournament played in one place.”

The organizers at Albertville, a French Alpine resort, at first promised to build two arenas for the Olympic tournament.

But they said last September that they wanted to hold the games only in an existing arena in neighboring Meribel and use a small arena in Courchevel, another Alpine resort, only for practice.

“To organize an Olympic tournament in one arena in 12 days is impossible,” said Miroslav Subrt, a IIHF council member. “We would have to play six games daily.”

Also, he said that going from the main arena to practice in Courchevel, 25 miles away on winter roads, would be difficult, he said.

Subrt said another potential problem is the altitude difference between Meribel and Courchevel; Courchevel is higher by about a quarter of a mile.

“Therefore, we have asked our medical committee to study this situation, whether it’s physically possible for the players,” Subrt said.

The French organizers have proposed a compromise, building an Olympic village for the hockey players between Meribel and Courchevel.

The IIHF also is unhappy with the small arena at Meribel. It seats about 6,000. The 1988 Olympic tournament was played at the Saddledome in Calgary, which seats some 20,000 fans.

Hockey, one of the best draws in the Winter Olympics, is not a popular sport in France.