Milano Ice Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Force NHL Stars on Unproven Playing Surface

Forget about thin ice. For now, there’s no ice.

With 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 Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue 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 – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary arena.

This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $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 revealed in February of last year, 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 set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's tournament runs from 5-19 February.