In the Santagiulia district of Milan, the sounds of construction are deafening as two thousand workers fight against a rapidly moving calendar for 24 hours a day. The arena that will host the main hockey games at the 2026 Winter Olympics is a busy place, but the most important part, the ice itself, is not there yet.

This major error has raised new and serious suspicions, putting a damper on what is supposed to be a triumphal return of NHL stars to the Winter Olympics stage since 2014. A recent conversation on TSN made the stress clear when host Gino Reda asked hockey expert Chris Johnston, “CJ, are they gonna make it on time?” Johnston’s answer showed the project’s main problem: being cautiously hopeful about how the building will look but very worried about how it will work.

“Well, they certainly are doing their best, I put it that way,” Johnston began, detailing the massive effort. “Based on a status call that was held with all the interested parties. This week, the word out of Milan is that they now have a team of two thousand people, working around the clock, trying to get the construction done on the main arena in that city, and as a result of that, there is actually a fair bit of optimism with the progress in terms of the build of the rink.”

He then cut to the core of the crisis. “Where there is concern, still, Gino is the fact that there is no ice yet in this arena, and until there’s that on the surface, I can’t be entirely sure that this tournament will go off as they want. Obviously, the league wants to make sure that’s safe for the players. That they can stand up for three games a day.”

“So, the clock is ticking, the work is going feverishly, and the construction is making progress, but still not to the point where everyone, I would say, is comfortable,” he added.

With the start date of February 5 getting closer, the people in charge of the event have had to take a big risk with testing. The first and only big test events are currently set for January.

This leaves a very short window of time to find and fix any serious problems with the ice plant, refrigeration, or arena operations. The NHL has, however, set straightforward regulations for the venue.

The NHL is quite serious about the Winter Olympics’ arena

The NHL has taken a cautious but forceful approach to the unfinished hockey rink for the Winter Olympics. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated he has heard “positive reports” about the frenzied building progress and was “cautiously optimistic” that players will be able to participate as scheduled. However, the league’s main concern is about the arena’s condition.

“If the ice isn’t ready and it’s not safe, then we’re not going,” Daly has plainly stated, stressing that this position is “pretty self-evident.” Commissioner Gary Bettman has repeatedly framed the delays as “disappointing,” noting that in all prior Winter Olympics featuring NHL players, facilities have never been this far behind schedule.

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The NHL also took an unusually active role to make sure standards are fulfilled, sending its own technicians down to Milan to try and get the ice ready and up to standards in time. Daly said, “We’re basically moving everybody there to try to help get this done in a way that is acceptable for NHL athletes.”

Fans are waiting, and the players are preparing, but only time will tell if the hockey action will go off without a hitch with all the problems that are cropping up in Milan.