Forget about poor conditions. Currently, the surface isn't ready.
As NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in over a decade, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.
Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been moved to a smaller 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 puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round 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 timeline is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.
The competition that was supposed 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 venue, which is being set up inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage lesser games during the games.
Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.
This new facility, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.
Despite the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.
The comeback of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Games for the initial occasion 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.
