With the Winter Olympics just months away, organizers are addressing growing scrutiny surrounding the ice hockey venue for the Milano Cortina 2026 Games.
Recent reports suggested that the Milano Santagiulia Arena’s rink, still under construction, shall be barely smaller than the usual utilized in NHL arenas, raising questions on player safety and gameplay conditions, especially with elite NHL talent set to return to the Olympics for the primary time since 2014.
While the rink shall be marginally wider, the priority is that the extra width may not fully offset the reduction in length in a sport where speed and collisions define the rhythm of play. The International Ice Hockey Federation issued a clarifying statement to deal with the mounting noise.
“The IIHF can confirm that the ice surfaces for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games will measure 60.0 m x 26.0 m (roughly 196.85 ft. x 85.3 ft). While these dimensions differ barely from a typical NHL rink, they’re consistent with IIHF regulations, match the rink size used on the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and are fully consistent with the scale the NHL requires as a part of its Global Series Game arena specifications,” the federation said through the Milano Cortina Foundation.
Meanwhile, the IIHF, IOC, and NHL all appear aligned in minimizing concerns over the variation, insisting the hockey players’ safety won’t be affected.
“All involved, the IIHF, the Organizing Committee, NHL, NHLPA, IOC and the relevant venue authorities agree that the differences in rink specifications are insignificant, and shouldn’t impact either the protection or quality of game play,” the statement emphasized.
Amid those reassurances, the NHL publicly signaled progress on its end as well. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday that he’s receiving encouraging updates on the situation.
“I’m getting positive reports about what they will do, what the subsequent plan is, what the subsequent day is, what it looks like, how the parties are reacting, etc. Today was a reasonably positive day,” Daly said after Day 1 of the NHL Board of Governors meeting, via NHL.com.
The optimism is critical, because the return of NHL players guarantees a talent-rich Olympic hockey tournament returning after missing two straight Olympics because of financial disagreements and COVID-related disruptions. Expectations for the 2026 tournament are higher than ever.