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Milano Hockey Venue Setbacks Could Force NHL Players on Untested Ice
Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.
With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a smaller arena – 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 – one day before the opening ceremony.
“The timeline will be extremely tight to the start of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.
The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host secondary matches during the games.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s also about checking concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new contemporary arena.
The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.
Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.
Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.
Kim Ramirez
A passionate golfer and journalist with over a decade of experience covering PGA tours and equipment innovations.
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