Milano Ice Hockey Arena Setbacks May Force NHL Stars on Unproven Playing Surface
Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.
As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.
The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.
Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.
This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
Despite the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.