Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks May Force NHL Stars on Unproven Ice

Forget about thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may 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 opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players 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.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.