Children play near the Olympic rings as snow falls, ahead of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Livigno, Italy, January 8, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
MILAN, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The Santagiulia ice hockey arena in Milan, which will stage some of the biggest matches at the Winter Olympics next month, finally opened its doors to the public on Friday with a test event featuring Italy's top teams.
Slow progress on completing the venue has emerged as the main headache in the run-up to the Olympics which will be co-hosted by Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo from February 6-22.
The arena, which will have a capacity of 15,300 spectators, will host 4,000 fans during the test days, the organisers said, acknowledging there is still work to do, including completing hospitality areas.
"The most important part of the test event for us is to try everything related to the competition field," Chief Games Operations Andrea Francisi said.
"The goal of these three days is to understand whether what we have put in place for the competitions works," he added.
This weekend it is hosting the Final Four event of Italy's Championship and the 2025/2026 Italian Cup in what will be a chance to evaluate the quality of the ice itself, as well as facilities for spectators.
Ice hockey will be one of the main events of the Games, with players from the North America's elite National Hockey League set to feature.
Local organisers said last month that the rink will be safe after it emerged that the surface will be a little shorter than NHL specifications, raising concerns over the risk of even more high-speed collisions between players.
IOC Sport Director Pierre Ducrey said the difference in size compared with NHL standards was marginal and the rink fully met requirements.
"We are happy with the size, we are happy with the ice", Ducrey said, adding that "there will be refinements after the test event, we'll look at the results, debrief and improve so we are ready for the first kick off."
Located in the south-east of Milan, it is one of two ice hockey venues for the Games, and is scheduled to host the gold medal games.
After the Games, it will be converted into a centre to host sports and live entertainment.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, additional reporting by Keith Weir, editing by Christian Radnedge)
