🔗 Share this article

Put aside 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 more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact arena – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may 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 opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

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

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the year before to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

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

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.