Milan Hockey Venue Delays May Force NHL Players on Unproven Playing Surface

Forget about thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than 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 test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there may 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 – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $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 organization allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.