Construction of hockey arena for 2026 Olympics facing a 'tight schedule'

Karissa Donkin · CBC Sports

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 11:28 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

The docket for completing the arena that volition beryllium utilized for galore hockey games astatine the 2026 Winter Olympics successful Italy volition beryllium "very tight," organizers told the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this week astatine the organization's 144th Session successful Greece.

The Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena successful Milan, which is slated to beryllium capable to big 16,000 fans, volition big galore men's hockey games and the semifinal and last games successful women's hockey. It volition besides beryllium location to Para hockey during the Paralympics.

But if things spell to schedule, organizers won't beryllium capable to get into the installation to commencement gathering the impermanent crystal the players volition usage until October, 4 months earlier the Games are acceptable to begin.

The arena is being developed by a backstage company. After the Games, the crystal volition beryllium removed and it volition big different sports.

"We've been pursuing done the processes since the precise beginning," Andrea Varnier, the CEO of Milano Cortina 2026, said aft his presumption to IOC members connected Thursday.

Varnier blamed the pandemic for a "slow start" that near backstage owners wondering if the arena would beryllium a bully investment, without knowing what mightiness hap successful the world.

"We were truly disquieted astatine 1 point," Varnier said. "Finally enactment started and they're going very, precise fast."

The photos shown by the organizing committee during their presumption showed a skeleton of a structure.

Ice to beryllium tested little than 2 months earlier Games

The docket would spot the impermanent crystal finished successful December, little than 2 months earlier the Games. Then, organizers volition clasp trial events to gauge its quality.

Asked astir the organizers' backup program should the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena not beryllium acceptable successful time, Varnier said determination isn't one.

"We don't spot a request for a backup program due to the fact that similar we said, the enactment is going perfectly online with our timing," Varnier said. So we don't believe, unneurotic with the planetary federation, that we request a program B."

After the Olympics and Paralympics, the crystal volition beryllium removed and the installation tin beryllium utilized for different sports, specified arsenic tennis, which are much fashionable successful the section area.

NHL players volition instrumentality to the Olympics for the archetypal clip since 2014. The archetypal tickets went connected merchantability implicit 2 days successful February.

Of much than 600,000 tickets sold, hockey was 1 of the astir fashionable draws, on with biathlon, fig skating and cross-country skiing.

WATCH | Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith connected Kirsty Coventry arsenic the caller IOC president:

"It's evident that it's a precise immense accidental for us, for Italy, for the games for the Olympic question but specifically for Milano Cortina 2026," Giovanni Malagò, the president of the organizing committee, told reporters.

Asked astir the prime of the impermanent crystal the players volition use, Varnier said determination are large examples of tournaments utilizing impermanent ice.

"We person the knowledge, the exertion and the acquisition to marque a fantastic impermanent crystal expanse for the NHL players to person a fantastic [tournament]," helium said.

"We're moving with planetary federations. This has ne'er been a worry. Of people overmuch much challenging is the velocity skating. That volition beryllium impermanent arsenic well."

Sliding Centre acceptable for testing

The Milan Ice Park volition big the velocity skating stadium and Rho Ice Hockey Arena, which volition play big to the men's and women's hockey games that won't beryllium astatine the caller Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Varnier told the IOC that imperishable enactment connected the Ice Park is complete. After the Games, the venue volition beryllium disposable arsenic a multifunctional abstraction for the community. Like astatine Santagiulia, the crystal is temporary.

"At the aforesaid time, we volition beryllium capable to show that it is imaginable to signifier a analyzable lawsuit specified arsenic a velocity skating contention successful a impermanent and sustainable venue," Varnier said.

Next week, 60 athletes are slated to trial the sliding centre being built successful Cortina, a venue that had been the people of sabotage past month. The backup plan, had the sliding centre not been completed, would spot sliding events moved each the mode to Lake Placid, N.Y.

The athletes' colony successful Milan is astir complete, portion the archetypal prefabricated houses started arriving successful Cortina d'Ampezzo two weeks ago, organizers said.