Milano Ice Hockey Arena Setbacks Could Leave NHL Players on Unproven Ice

Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact arena – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is slated 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 event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.