NHL Reportedly Getting Really Nervous About Olympic Hockey Arena
If it wasn't aready crunch time, it is now...
Back in October, we talked about how the main hockey venue for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, the 16,000-seat PalaItalia Santa Giulia, was behind schedule.
I'll admit, I shrugged it off. I can't remember an Olympic cycle when there wasn't a story about something being behind schedule, whether it was a venue or the athlete village.
Heck, last year we spent months waiting to see if the Paris Olympics folks could get all the poop out of the Seine in time.
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But a new report has got me a little nervous, because it sounds like the NHL is really nervous about the status of this new arena.
New Olympic venues like the PalaItalia Santa Giulia typically get a tune-up event to make sure everything is in working order, from the playing surface to the concession stands to the toilets and beyond. This shakedown was supposed to happen in December, but was moved to another smaller arena.
Now, The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the NHL is getting increasingly nervous about it.
"It continues to be concerning," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said after a general managers meeting this week.
The Olympic hockey venue, PalaItalia Santa Giulia, is behind schedule and it seems like the NHL is even getting nervous. (Photo by Vincenzo Lombardo/Getty Images)
You can understand why the NHL would want its big return to the Olympics to go off without a hitch. It's a prime opportunity to get the league's biggest names on the biggest stage.
The league sent a pair of envoys to take a look at the arena.
LeBrun reports that NHL executive vice president of events Dean Matsuzaki and senior director of facilities operations/hockey operations Derek King will be in Italy next week to check things out.
"Hopefully we’ll have a much better sense of it next week," Daly said.
Alright, now I'm nervous.
It seems as though the NHL isn't exactly buying what they're being told by Olympic organizers, and that's why Matsuzaki and King are jetting off to Milan (there are worse assignments) to have a look-see for themselves.
Will it be ready in time?
That remains to be seen, but now the pressure is really on.