In a strict sense, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which will host the 2026 Winter Olympics ice hockey events, will be ready in time for the Games.
The basic requirements of an ice hockey venue are in place. There is a sheet of ice for play. There are seats for spectators to watch.
“I don’t know that things will be completely finished cosmetically,” Don Moffatt, 2026 Winter Olympics Chief Ice Maker, told NBC affiliate KOAA News5 on January 19. “The showers will work, the locker rooms are gonna be there, there’s rubber on the floor, so they can get to the rink. And, you know, I’m kind of biased, but the best part of the whole building is going to be the ice sheet.”
So when a high-ranking NHL executive told St. Louis Blues reporter Andy Strickland on January 20 that “the rink will not be done but we will be there and the tournament will be played,” we can infer he, too, is referring to those cosmetic features.
After a test event scheduled in December had to be canceled due to construction delays, Italian Cup games played between January 9 and 11 served as a critical test ahead of the beginning of Olympic play on February 5.
At that event, the work that had yet to be completed was obvious. Plastic sheeting sectioned off unfinished areas, including dressing rooms and concessions facilities. The latter may be supplemented by food trucks outside the arena.
Fans should be prepared for the actual experience to be different from what was advertised when they purchased their tickets.
Some seating areas will not be completed in time, bringing capacity from the originally planned figure of 14,000 down to 11,800.
In the first period of the January 9 game, a hole formed in the ice, causing a delay in play while it was fixed.
Still, the NHL and NHLPA were pleased enough with the progress displayed during the weekend’s games that the plan is still for their players to attend. “We’ve been assured that, or we expect, that everything that needs to be done on a timely basis will get done,” said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on January 12.
Bettman did, however, stress that “it’s not our event” and the final analysis of the rink’s readiness must be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
IIHF president Luc Tardif told reporters on January 11 that “there is no reason that NHL will not come. We want to make sure about the quality of ice, the security for the players, doesn’t matter where they come from. So now I can say we’re ready for the competition.”
In December, the NHL and NHLPA learned the rink will be three feet shorter than NHL regulation size, violating an agreement with the IOC and IIHF that was signed in July. However, the dimensions still fall within IIHF standards, and the NHL and NHLPA did not believe the shorter dimensions “would materially affect the quality or safety of the games,” per ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
If there were any concerns about player safety, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has made it clear the league would not be sending players to the Games. NHL players are set to return to the Olympics for the first time since Sochi 2014.
Ultimately, the questions as to the rink’s readiness may matter more to the media than to the players themselves.
“I’ll play anywhere,” Utah Mammoth captain Clayton Keller told Deseret News.
“Guys don’t care,” said Florida Panthers forward Brad Marchand. “No one’s talked about it. No one’s worried about it.”
The 2026 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony is on February 6. On February 5, the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena will host its first Olympic match between Italy and France for women’s hockey. The first game in men’s hockey between Slovakia and Finland is scheduled for February 11.