“Even though the International Olympic Committee and the International Ice Hockey Federation are responsible and have said we have nothing to worry about, we will send our own people to look at it ourselves, because the safety of the players in this tournament is the most important thing.”
The NHL, back in the Games for the first time since 2014, will rely on faith that the millions of dollars’ worth of product — dozens of star players — will return for the playoff chase unharmed by the playing surface.
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The rink was to be completed in December, according to The Architect’s Newspaper. Bettman said he would have preferred to begin testing the venue a year in advance.
An outside view of the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan in October.Luca Bruno/Associated Press
The foundation was poured in 2023 — on time, the Italian firm Trevi proudly stated of its work — and the building, designed by Arup and David Chipperfield Architects Berlin, will reportedly echo the elliptical form of Milan’s old Roman amphitheater.
The ETERIA Consortium, a partnership of the Caltagirone and Gavio families, is the general contractor. The company said one of its purposes is to lead an “infrastructural revitalization” of Italy.
Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi said in a statement to Architect’s Newspaper that the 16,000-seat, multi-use venue is a necessary community asset.
“There is no such arena in Milan. In fact, there aren’t many in Italy,” he said.
Bettman’s concern may have lessened after his deputies’ visit last week, but how much is unclear.
“There’s still a lot of concern about the status of the arena in Milan,” TSN reporter Chris Johnston said Wednesday in a video segment on that network. “NHL officials are there on the ground now, and some of the initial reports back have been encouraging.
“That’s a good thing, because I am told there was literally no Plan B here. It is Milan or bust for this Olympic Games, and obviously there is a high level of concern from the NHL about where this arena is at, the fact that it’s still not yet finished.”
A suggestion that the hockey tournament could be moved to an alternate location — such as Switzerland, which regularly hosts major international hockey games — was shot down, Johnston reported.
“There was a meeting last week in Stockholm [ahead of the NHL Global Series] that included members from the [IOC] and NHL,” Johnston said. “It was made clear that the Olympic tournament has to happen at the Olympic venue, so they need to get that arena finished.”
The women’s tournament begins Feb. 5. The men drop the puck on Feb. 11. The deadline for all countries to submit their Olympic rosters is Dec. 31.
Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him @mattyports.