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

Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL players preparing to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – 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 puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the beginning of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

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

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies 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 Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

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