Milan Ice Hockey Arena Delays Could Leave NHL Stars on Untested Ice

Forget about poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might 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 inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, 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 a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing 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 athletic competition 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 premier hockey league permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.