MILAN — Olympic organizers are “100%” confident the NHL won’t pull out of the Milan Cortina Games with the new ice hockey arena finally ready. Or almost.
Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena have drawn headlines for weeks ahead of the NHL returning to the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening on Feb. 5.
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The NHL has expressed concern about the construction and quality of the ice surface. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league would not send its players if there were any safety concerns.
When Andrea Francisi, the chief games operations officer for Milan Cortina, was asked on Friday how confident he was that NHL players would participate, he said, “100%, 100%.”
IOC sports director Pierre Ducrey echoed his sentiments.
“I’m very confident they will be here and it’s going to be extremely exciting,” Ducrey said. “We’re very excited they’re coming back; 12 years, there was a lot of work from a lot people to make sure this happens.
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“So, yeah, you will have NHL players here in February and it is going to be amazing.”
The NHL is expected to release a statement at the end of