Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks May Leave NHL Players on Unproven Ice
Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.
As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.
The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.
“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.
The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.
Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament runs from 5-19 February.