The NHL says it is “disappointing” that the championship's main hockey arena Winter Olympics won't be ready until the new year – and warned his best players won't show up until the ice is proven safe.
The men's and women's tournaments are expected to be some of the highlights of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Games. NHL The stars are appearing for the first time since 2014.
However, construction continues to be marred by construction delays and questions about why the rink at Milan's Santagiulia Arena is smaller and wider than the NHL's, as well as concerns about the quality of the ice. And while the International Olympic Committee insisted Tuesday that everything would be ready on time, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear he wasn't entirely satisfied.
“The fact that the building is not completed at this time is disappointing—and I won't use any other adjective,” Bettman said.
Meanwhile, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly warned organizers that the 14,700-seat arena must be able to handle three games a day or players won't show up. “If the ice isn’t ready and it’s not safe, then we won’t go,” Daly said. “I mean, I think it's pretty self-explanatory.”
Construction delays have meant there will be no ice at the arena until the new year, with test events now rescheduled for January 9-11. IOC President Kirsty Coventry said despite the hiccups everything would be fine in the evening.
“We need to move forward and continue until the very last moment,” she said. “But we're very impressed, very happy with everything we're seeing and hearing. As we get closer, we just have to keep our finger on the pulse in terms of the hockey rink.”
IOC sporting director Pierre Ducret also insisted that concerns over the small size of the rink have now been “successfully resolved” with the NHL and its players. “So we’re very happy with where we are at the moment,” he said.
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Elsewhere, the IOC shrugged off sluggish ticket sales, saying 70% of Games tickets had now been sold.
