The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the main hockey rink for the Milan Cortina Olympics may not be fully ready in time, but the playing field, practice facilities and changing rooms will be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event on February 11.
“We can have confidence in that,” IIHF president Luc Tardif told reporters Monday during the world junior championship. “You don’t go to Milan for nothing.”
Tardif added that the main arena will not be “exactly” what he expected in terms of capacity, with a seating capacity of 11,800. “That’s a bit short,” he said, according to the Canadian Press. “But it will be a nice setup for the Olympics.”
Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and the secondary Rho facility have made headlines for weeks, with the NHL returning to the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening on February 5.
The NHL has expressed concerns about the construction and also the quality of the ice surface. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league will not send its players if there are safety issues with the ice. The league sends its own experts to Italy to ensure the ice is safe. The facility features rinks that are smaller than NHL standards, but still within IIHF standards.
Tardif noted that the IIHF does not oversee construction – that is a matter for the International Olympic Committee and local organizing officials – and can only do so much in terms of the timeline.
Tardif said he will travel to Italy later this week with officials from the league and the NHL Players’ Association for a test event at the site. “I have confidence in the quality of the infrastructure,” he said. “We would have liked to sleep a lot better… I think we’re going to have a good competition, but maybe you can ask me the question afterwards (this week).”
The NHL was caught off guard when it became clear that the dimensions of the two rinks will be slightly wider and one meter shorter than what the league and the International Ice Hockey Federation had agreed to. Daly said the league and NHLPA have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface at the 2030 Olympic Games in France to be standard NHL size.
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