Milano Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
Put aside thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.
This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena 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 beginning of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.
Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.
This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.
In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.