🔗 Share this article

Put aside poor conditions. For now, the surface isn't ready.

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

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

This situation creates the possibility 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 inaugural event.

“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 competition that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested 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 ready and safe. It’s additionally 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 Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

In spite of the delays and concerns, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the premier hockey league permitting its players to participate in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey competition is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.