The main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics is finally ready. Although the NHL players might feel as if they’re skating on a lake.
Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena have drawn headlines for months ahead of the NHL returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening on Thursday.
But it’s finally done. Or almost.
There are still people working on the final touches and it certainly needs a good clean after the frantic construction round the clock to get it ready in time. But there is no sign of the plastic sheeting and wires hanging from the ceiling, that were obvious at the test event at the arena less than a month ago.
And the players have started skating, with France having the first two practices on the main rink on Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
“Not bad,” was the verdict of France captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. “On social media we get a lot of videos about ‘Oh it’s panicky panicky,’ but to be honest the ice is actually pretty decent quality.
“It does feel like you’re on a lake a little bit, because it’s shallow underneath, so the noise and everything feels like a little odd but the quality of the ice, I thought, so far has been okay.”
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Bellemare raved about the locker rooms although he admitted that some places still needed a coat of paint or two.
But despite the venue being the focal point of the buildup because of the delays, Bellemare said he was never really concerned.
“People see it different ways,” he continued. “I’m 40 years old, I’ve been waiting for 24 years to come to an Olympics. And now I have the privilege to be here. And I remember telling my wife, `Even if it’s concrete, I will go, and I will be there.’ So no, I never was worried.
“Like, would I want the whole thing to not be such a focus and more of an applaud on the Italian organization and all the things they are doing? Yeah, I would have rathered that. I knew there was gonna be ice and then from that point I just have to adjust to whatever the ice is.”
Bellemare plays for HC Ajoie in the Swiss league but he spent 10 years in the NHL and reached the Stanley Cup final twice, with the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning.
So, does he think the NHL players will be as enthusiastic?
“It’s been 24 years of waiting and nothing can make me in a bad mood right now,” Bellemare said. “So I’m maybe a little bit too optimistic. Maybe you’re going to ask other players or maybe guys coming from the NHL and they’re going tell you, `Ah, this isn’t great.’
“But I’ve always been known as a really positive guy, a guy that sees it’s half full not half empty. So, for me, I’ve been here for 48 hours and I’ve had a hard time to remove my smile.”
