New hockey arena passes first test ahead of Games

MILAN — The International Olympic Committee says it's impressed with the new hockey arena for the Milano-Cortina Games, even if parts of it still look like a building site.

The Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will be one of the focal points of the games next month, with NHL players returning to the Olympics for the first time in more than a decade.

However, the venue has also been the focal point of the buildup, with construction delays and other matters causing concern.

It is finally ready — or, at least, almost.

The ice rink is in place and most of the seating, but there is still an abundance of plastic sheeting, while some areas such as the locker rooms are far from finished.

"What I see, personally, is an extraordinary seating bowl and this venue … looks fantastic," IOC Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said Sunday. "The last time I came was before Christmas, and this is radically different. So, so much progress. (To everyone) involved here, hats off.

"There's only one way to go, and that is the view of the experts … and what they tell us, first class."

The NHL previously expressed concern about ice quality due to construction delays, with deputy commissioner Bill Daly saying the league would not send its players if there were any safety concerns.

The IOC shared some of those worries.

"Although we were facing a lot of difficulties, we always had a very strong plan," Dubi said. "Now having a plan does not mean that you're going to get there, but there was so much oversight and so much expertise thrown at this venue, with probably the best engineers, the best Ice Meister, everything that could be thrown at that venue was thrown.

"So, did I ever have doubts? No. Was I concerned? Certainly. Because if you were here six months ago, it didn't look this way I can tell you.

"It's incredible what they've done, really incredible."

Dubi was speaking on the final day of a long-awaited, three-day test event at the arena.

The original test event, scheduled in December, didn't happen because of the construction delays. The one scheduled this weekend — the final league and cup games of the domestic season — is less than a month out from the women's competition.

The NHL is expected to release a statement at the end of its visit to the new arena, with a delegation having spent time there over the past three days.

The International Ice Hockey Federation can see no barrier to the NHL returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, especially after having simulated Olympic conditions at the test event with three matches a day on Saturday and Sunday.

"We know how it's difficult to have a high level of quality of ice for the third period of the third game. Yesterday, that was a good test because that was fantastic, the puck was sliding, it was not bumping," IIHF president Luc Tardif said. "So, we'll go back to Zurich happy and confident.

"We're going to make a report, but yesterday that was a test, so there is no reason that NHL will not come …We want to ensure the quality of the ice, the security of the players, it doesn't matter where they come from. So, now I can say that we're ready for the competition."

The players themselves said they were happy with the quality of the ice.

Canadian James Livingston, who plays for the Wipptal Broncos, said he was sure his compatriots in the NHL would be fine.

"I mean, we all grew up playing on ponds back in Canada, so I'm sure that whatever gets thrown at them, they're gonna adapt and they're gonna enjoy it," he told reporters. "And they are playing for their country. So, I think it will be a great competition."

The women's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run Feb 5-19, and the men's from Feb 11-22.