Milan Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Untested Ice
Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympics for the first time in over a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.
“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.
Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern arena.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.
