Overview

• Local organizers confirmed the December under-20 test event was shifted from the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena to the smaller Rho Fiera site, and no new test has been scheduled.
• The compressed timeline means the first game at Santagiulia might not occur until the women’s Olympic preliminaries on February 5, raising the prospect of NHL players competing on untested ice.
• NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the league has been concerned for two years about progress on the rinks and emphasized that delivery is the responsibility of the IOC and IIHF.
• Ticket sales are underway for Olympic hockey at Santagiulia, with seats for the men’s gold medal game priced as high as €1,400.
• Santagiulia is being built by a private developer to be Italy’s largest indoor arena and is being eyed for post-Games events such as a potential ATP Finals host.