Milano Ice Hockey Arena Delays May Force NHL Stars on Unproven Ice

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

With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled 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 initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will 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 competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its athletes 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. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.