Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – 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 competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.
“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.
The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the games.
Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.
This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.
In spite of the postponements and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.
