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

Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary 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-seat 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 main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

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

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

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 future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to participate in the Winter Games for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.