Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been arranged 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 preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.
“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.
The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.
Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.
This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.
Despite the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.
