Milano Hockey Arena Delays Could Leave NHL Players on Untested Ice
Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.
With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match 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 inaugural event.
“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.
This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.
Despite the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.
