Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
With NHL athletes 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.
Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact 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 primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.
