Put aside thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a decade, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.
This situation creates the possibility that there may not be a match held in the main arena 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 Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.
The competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.
In spite of the postponements and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to participate in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.
