The main arena for the Milano Cortina Olympics is now only scheduled to be done two days before the women's hockey tournament opens, and with a smaller ice surface. The PWHL has joined the discussions, while talk of a Plan B and an IIHF response have all emerged.
The biggest question regarding the Olympics women’s hockey tournament is not about who is going to win between Canada and the USA, but if the rink will be ready on time.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on Monday that he expects both the Santagiulia Arena and the Rho Arena in Milan to be ready by February 2, which is only three days before the women’s tournament starts.
However, it isn’t the only update regarding this situation.
Longtime French commentator for the Laval Rocket and BPM radio host Anthony Marcotte, who is also well connected within the QMJHL, reported that a Quebec company called Synerglace, which, among other projects, prepared the rink for the QMJHL Winter Classic last weekend in Trois-Rivières, has been approached recently regarding the Olympics. The company, owned by former goaltender Patrick Couture, has become a reference worldwide.
“The information that was shared with me yesterday (Sunday) is quite interesting, but very worrying at the same time for the men's and women's hockey tournaments at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games, which are set to begin in two months,” Marcotte said during his morning show at BPM Sports.
“What was shared with me yesterday is that the concern is not just trivial, it’s real. It’s not just the NHL raising a flag saying it wouldn’t work; there is a lot of worry at the International Olympic Committee right now over the construction of the Santagiulia arena. There are concerns because there really isn’t a Plan B; there isn’t another arena ready to host a competition of Olympic calibre in the Milan area, except for a soccer stadium,” Marcotte continued, adding that it would need the authorization of the NHL and NHLPA.
Is Outdoor a Real Solution?
The only soccer stadium in Milan that would be worthy of the Olympics is the San Siro, where the AC Milan plays. It has a capacity of approximately 76,000 seats. Andrea Francisi, the chief Games operations officer for Milan-Cortina, said a week ago that there was no Plan B, which was somewhat hard to believe.
Is an outdoor tournament the real Plan B, the solution?
If that’s the case, there are concerns to be raised.
The first one is obvious: the quality of the ice. Relying heavily on the weather, it has varied over the years at the NHL Winter Classic.
NHLPA assistant executive director Ron Hainsey said in a statement to Hockey Night in Canada on Sunday that the health and safety of the players while playing on any ice surface wouldn’t be compromised at the Olympics. To which Daly added that if the players felt the ice was unsafe, they were not going to play.
How the NHL and PWHL players would feel about playing outdoors the whole tournament is unknown. Not that it would be unsafe, but there’s a huge difference between playing indoor and outdoor and there’s also a big difference between playing one game a year and a whole Olympic tournament.
One of Many Problems
Other than the ice surface and the temperature, playing outdoor brings other concerns like the stands, concessions, bathrooms, fan experience in general, especially since athletes have already been told that accommodation would fall below what they are used to in professional hockey. It wouldn’t be a good look for the organization committee.
It’s also one of the many problematic situations coming from the construction of those two arenas. Other than if they will be ready on time, the size of the rinks made people talk as well.
An NHL regular ice surface must be 85-by-200-foot. That said, the IIHF has approved a sheet of ice measuring 85.3-by-196.85 foot. The IIHF also released a statement this week saying "All involved, the IIHF, the organizing committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and should not impact either the safety or quality of game play.”
That came as a surprise since there was an agreement with the NHL and the NHLPA about having NHL-sized ice at the Olympics. In a statement on Monday, the IIHF said that every organization, including the NHL and the NHLPA, agreed that the difference wouldn’t jeopardize the safety of the game, and that the same size was used at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and the Global Series games between Pittsburgh and Nashville in Stockholm just recently.
PWHL In Active Discussions
Still, it seems like every day there’s a new issue. And since the women’s tournament starts six days before the men’s, it’s even more concerning for the PWHL and its players.
It’s the first Olympic Year since the creation of the PWHL, and neither the PWHLPA nor the PWHL has yet to release a statement regarding any of these issues.
That said, CBC’s Karissa Donkin tweeted late Tuesday night that the PWHL is in active discussions with the IIHF, trying to get firsthand information about the ice surface. An email was also sent by The Hockey News Women to the players’ association, but wasn’t answered by press time. Team Canada and Team USA’s players and management are in Edmonton this week for the Rivalry Series.