Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks May Force NHL Stars on Untested Ice

Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.