Organisers of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are facing a race against time as the primary venue for the ice hockey tournament is running significantly behind schedule.
A Tight Timeline for a Major Venue
Construction of the new Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, a 16,000-seat facility, is not on track for the Games. In a concerning admission, officials have confirmed that there is no back-up venue available should the arena fail to be completed.
A planned test event had to be relocated, and new tests are now scheduled for 9-11 January 2026. This leaves organisers with a perilously short window, as the first Olympic hockey game is set for 5 February, just one day before the opening ceremony.
Official Optimism Amidst the Pressure
Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan-Cortina, has publicly addressed the delays. He stated there is "no plan B" for the situation but remains "optimistic" that the venue will be ready for the world's top athletes.
This timeline is particularly tight for a new Olympic venue. Typically, new facilities are tested under competition conditions at least a year in advance to identify and resolve any issues. The compressed schedule for the Santagiulia Arena presents a substantial operational risk.
What This Means for the Games
The situation places immense pressure on construction teams and games organisers. Any further delays could directly impact the ice hockey tournament, one of the Winter Olympics' most popular and watched events.
With the eyes of the world on Milan and Cortina, the successful and timely completion of the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena has become a critical priority for the 2026 Games.
