Milano Ice Hockey Arena Delays Could Leave NHL Stars on Untested Playing Surface

Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, 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 playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.