🔗 Share this article

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

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue 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 start of the Olympics, the schedule is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.