Milan's unfinished Olympic hall is inaugurated

From Friday to Sunday, the new Italian ice hockey champion and cup winner will be determined in the newly built Santa Giulia Arena in Milan. Here's everything you need to know.

09 January 2026

From: dl

The Milano Hockey Finals, a test event for the Olympic Games, kick off on Friday at the brand-new Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan. In the first semifinal of the Italian Cup, SV Kaltern will face HC Varese at 8 p.m., aiming once again for a place in the final. The second semifinal, between Alleghe and HC Eppan, will take place on Saturday. The final will be held on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. in Milan.

The Italian ice hockey championship will also be decided in Milan this weekend. Four teams will compete for the 92nd "Scudetto" at the IHL Serie A Final Four. The first semifinal between Asiago and Cortina takes place on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., followed by the South Tyrolean derby between the Ritten/Renon Buam and the Wipptal Broncos at 8:00 p.m. The final, featuring a guaranteed South Tyrolean team, will be played on Sunday at 8:00 p.m., with the third-place match taking place earlier that day at 11:00 a.m.

Still a construction site

The new arena in Milan has a capacity of 14.000 seats. This weekend, however, it is limited to 4.000 seats – the organizers expect around 3.000 spectators per match. The new Olympic arena is not yet finished, just under a month before the Games.

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Florian Wieser from Kaltern shared several pictures and videos on social media on Thursday, which have since gone viral. They show that the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena – from the stands to the locker room – is still a construction site.

Milan Hockey Finals, the program:

Friday, January 9th:
SV Kaltern – Varese (20:XNUMX p.m.)

Saturday, January 10th:
Alleghe – HC Eppan (11 a.m.)
HC Asiago – SG Cortina (15.30 p.m.)
Rittner Buam – Wipptal Broncos (20 pm)

Sunday, January 11th:
Third place match in Serie A (11 a.m.)
Italian Cup Final (3:30 pm)
Italian Championship Final (20 p.m.)