MILAN – Thanks to the Olympic Games, Milan will turn into the hockey capital of the world for almost three weeks in February.
It will be played in two new stadiums, which will be transformed into multifunctional halls after the Winter Olympics. However, young people who decide to play hockey in Milan have to travel a lot outside the city, HC Milano Devils club president Udo Portele told ČTK. It won’t change even after the games. Portele hopes that the Olympics could attract more people to hockey, but TuttoHockey editor-in-chief Daniele Amadasi is skeptical.
In Italian society, of all sports, football has a dominant position. This also applies to Milan, home to the famous clubs AC and Inter. Although the Alps are beautifully visible from Milan’s dome, winter sports are not as popular here as in Tyrol or Trident. “Milan has a centuries-old hockey tradition, but it has disappeared,” stated Portele.
“It is difficult to play hockey in Milan because we have few facilities, which we also have to share with other ice sports,” says Portela. After closing the city’s winter stadium in 2017, the Milano Devils have to play in stadiums around Milan, which has a similar population to Prague.
However, they have to travel further for training and matches on ice surfaces that meet the requirements of the hockey federation. “The nearest such stadiums are in Como and Varese,” explains Portele. This means transfers that can take an hour or more from Milan. In addition, the club has its own ice rink in the village of Madesimo, more than an hour and a half away by car, near the border with Switzerland.
“We are the only ones in Milan who play in federal competitions,” emphasizes Portele. The club has approximately 150 registered players and focuses mainly on children and youth. For the senior team, it cannot provide a sufficiently high-quality background, although it has players from all over Milan and its surroundings.
“A few years ago, when the Olympic Games were announced, we expected that there would be something left in Milan after them, especially for young athletes,” says Portela.
He regrets that all the ice surfaces built for the games are only temporary. His club tries to reach children and young people through public skating, and many of them also try hockey. “However, when parents hear where we train, they say that it would be difficult for them to handle it,” said Portele, referring to the distances the players have to travel for training.
Nevertheless, Portele hopes that the Olympic Games will lead to an increase in interest in hockey. The editor-in-chief of the specialized website TuttoHockey Amadasi has the opposite opinion. “After the 2006 Turin Olympics, the popularity of ice hockey in Italy did not increase, so I think that even these games will not bring it more attention at the national level.” Amadasi stated.
However, according to him, there are projects under negotiation that could improve the situation. Milan City Hall is considering resuming the PalAgorà city winter stadium, but its capacity would be reduced to 1,000 seats. The Milan fairs commissioned a feasibility study for a hockey stadium with a capacity of 5,000 seats.
- Author: © List/
- Source: CTK
