Milan Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Untested Playing Surface
Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.
The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match 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 start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia playing surface 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 Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the games.
Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the postponements and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final 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 sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.
