Milano Ice Hockey Venue Delays Could Force NHL Players on Untested Ice
Put aside thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
This situation raises the prospect 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 – one day before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.
This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.
