Milano Ice Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
Put aside poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
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.
The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.
“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.
Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.
Despite the postponements and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final 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 sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament runs from 5-19 February.
