Organizers admit ‘no plan B’ if hockey arena not ready for 2026 Olympics | Winter Olympics 2026

There is no backup stadium if the main ice hockey arena for the Winter Games in Milan Cortina is not ready in time.

The construction of the arena which should welcome NHL players to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a decade is behind schedule and its completion will be decided until the end.

A test event at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena – the new 16,000-seat venue on the outskirts of Milan – had to be moved and new test events are not scheduled until January 9-11.

“There is no plan B,” Andrea Francisi, Milan Cortina’s head of games operations, told the Associated Press on Saturday.

“It is therefore necessary to be able to organize the competition in an impeccable manner in Santagiulia.”

The first Olympic hockey game scheduled at the arena is a women’s preliminary round match on February 5, one day before the opening ceremony.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least a year before hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and making sure the playing surface is ready and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand new arena.

Francisi admitted there is “no specific date” for when the venue will be handed over to local organizers, but he is confident “at the moment” it will be ready for the Olympics.

“There are daily updates in the sense that our team is working every day,” Francisi said. “The companies involved in the construction of the facility have significantly accelerated their work.

“We monitor all this daily with them, there is a great collaboration between us, we create a coordinated plan between their work and our preparations and at the moment we are healthy optimistic, but we will do it 100%. “

The Olympic men’s hockey tournament will take place from February 11 to 22. The women’s tournament takes place from February 5 to 19.