Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Leave NHL Players on Untested Ice

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

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

Officials announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice 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 giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the Olympics.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about checking food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

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

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final 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 athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced last February, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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