Milano Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Leave NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface
Forget about thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.
This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.
The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment 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 giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.
Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.
This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.
In spite of the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for 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 passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.