Milano Ice Hockey Venue Delays Could Force NHL Players on Untested Playing Surface

Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility 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 – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to 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 event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice 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 built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition 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 world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to compete 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. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.