Milano Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Leave NHL Players on Unproven Ice
Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.
With NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match 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 opening ceremony.
“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.
Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.
The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.