Forget about thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.
This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the primary venue until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.
Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.
Despite the postponements and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.
The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.
