MILAN — There is no backup plan if the main ice hockey arena is not ready in time for the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
construction on ground that is scheduled nhl players welcome For the first time in more than a decade, the return of the Olympics is behind schedule and falling below schedule.
A test event at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena – the new 16,000-seat venue being built on the outskirts of Milan – had to be moved, and new events will not take place until January 9–11.
“There is no plan B,” Milan-Cortina chief sporting operations officer Andrea Francis told The Associated Press on Saturday. “So essentially we have to be able to organize the competition in Santagiulia in an impeccable manner.”
The first Olympic game at the main hockey arena is the women’s preliminary round competition on 5 February, the day before the opening ceremony.
Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least a year before hosting medal competitions. With a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing out concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a new arena.
Francis acknowledged there is “no exact date” for handing over the venue to local organizers, but he is confident “at the moment” it will be ready for the Olympics.
“There are daily updates in the sense that we have teams out there working every day,” Francis said. “The companies that are involved in the construction of the facility have significantly accelerated their work.
“We are monitoring all those things with them on a daily basis, we have very good cooperation, we are making a coordinated plan between their work and our preparations and at the moment we are healthy optimistic, but 100% we will do it.”
The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from February 11-22. The women’s tournament will run from February 5-19.
