Milan Ice Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Untested Playing Surface
Forget about thin ice. Currently, 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 main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.
This situation raises the prospect that there might 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.
“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.
The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern arena.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive 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 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.
