Milano Hockey Arena Setbacks Could Force NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
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 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 main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.
The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.
“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.
Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before 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 additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, 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 Tour Finals tennis event.
In spite of the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.
