Milano Ice Hockey Arena Delays Could Force NHL Stars on Unproven Playing Surface

Forget about poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the competition begins 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 beginning of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.