Construction and design teams tasked with bringing Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena to life have been racing to complete the new Olympic venue. With less than 24 hours to go until the first hockey teams take the ice, organizers admitted that the host venue will not be completely ready.
According to The Stadium Business, while the rink itself is ready for action, the rest of the arena is described as “an active construction site.”
There is dust everywhere, building materials are scattered about, concession stands are unfinished, bathroom appliances are still wrapped in plastic and several roads around the stadium are closed.
Related: Construction of Milan’s Olympic Hockey Venue ‘Down to the Wire’
“Do we have every single space in that venue finished? No. And is everything in that venue needed [for the matches to take place]? No,” said Christophe Dubi, the IOC executive director. “No one’s experience will be tainted by anything that needs to be painted after the games. Anything that is public facing will be top. Do we still have works to do? Yes, cleaning absolutely. There are still works ongoing, frantic as you say but it is to make it a great venue.”
Beginning tonight, Feb. 5, women’s hockey teams from Italy and France will face off in Milano Santagiulia Arena, and though the fan-facing amenities may be far from polished, players have been allowed on the ice to practice.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare told The Associated Press that the ice quality was “Not bad.”
“On social media we get a lot of videos about 'Oh it's panicky panicky,' but to be honest the ice is actually pretty decent quality,” said Bellemare. “It does feel like you're on a lake a little bit, because it's shallow underneath, so the noise and everything feels like a little odd, but the quality of the ice, I thought, so far has been okay."
