IOC happy as new Olympic arena almost ready to welcome NHL players

MILAN (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says it’s impressed with the new hockey arena for the Milan 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. Anyone involved here, hat 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 has 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 here 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 game of the third period. 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 in 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 make sure about the quality of ice, the security for the players, doesn’t matter where they come from. So now I can say 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 The Associated Press. "And they are playing for their country. So, I think it will be a great competition."

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled from Feb. 11-22, the women’s from Feb. 5-19.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics