Milano Hockey Venue Delays May Leave NHL Players on Untested Playing Surface

Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a game 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 beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a newly constructed modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats 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). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.