Milano Hockey Arena Delays Could Force NHL Players on Untested Playing Surface
Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.
As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.
The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.
“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.
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 moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the games.
Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.
Despite the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being sold for events 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 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament occurs from 5-19 February.
