Milan Ice Hockey Venue Delays Could Force NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.
“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.
The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.
Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s also about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.
This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
Despite the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.
