Milano Hockey Arena Delays May Force NHL Stars on Unproven Playing Surface

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

As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about checking food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new modern stadium.

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

Despite the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league permitting its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.