Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Leave NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.
The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match 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.
“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.
The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the games.
Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.
This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.
In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.