Milan Hockey Arena Setbacks Could Force NHL Stars on Untested Ice

Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL players preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes 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 runs from 5-19 February.