🔗 Share this article

Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the year before to hosting podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and concerns, expensive passes are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for 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. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

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

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.