Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.
With NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.
Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.
The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game 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 opening ceremony.
“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.
The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.
Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.
This new facility, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the delays and concerns, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.
The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its players 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. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.
