Milan Ice Hockey Venue Delays Could Leave NHL Players on Unproven Ice

Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, 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.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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