The size of the ice hockey arena for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina was defended on Monday by Olympic organizers and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) after reports that it is shorter than the standard used in NHL rinks.
The debate over dimensions is the latest issue surrounding Milan’s Santagiulia arena, where construction delays will see no test events until 9-11. January, that is, less than a month before the start of the Games.
Sports portal The Athletic reported last week that the size of the ice surface has raised safety concerns as the NHL’s elite players return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
According to The Athletic, the IIHF approved a 60-by-26-meter surface in Milan, which is more than three feet (0.9 meters) shorter than the required 200-foot (61 meters) length under NHL rules.
The area is a fraction wider than NHL specifications, but the concern is that it’s not enough to compensate for the shorter length of the rink in a sport where high-speed collisions are common.
“Although these dimensions differ slightly from a typical NHL rink, they are in accordance with IIHF regulations, correspond to the size of the rink used in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and are fully in line with the dimensions required by the NHL as part of the arena specifications for its Global Series games,” the federation said in a statement released by the Milano Cortina Foundation.
NHL players last participated in the Olympics in 2014 in Sochi. Four years later, the NHL and the International Olympic Committee have not agreed on who will pay for travel and other expenses for the 2018 Olympics in South Korea, while COVID restrictions prevented them from starting in Beijing four years ago.
Progress on the construction of the Santagiulia arena has emerged as a major problem in the run-up to the Olympics, which will be co-hosted by Milan and the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo from February 6-22.
The arena is located in the southeast of Milan and will have approximately 15,000 seats. It is one of two ice hockey arenas and is designed to host gold medal matches.
It will be officially opened in January when it will host the Final Four events of the Italian IHL Hockey League Serie A Championship and the Italian Cup 2025/2026.
