Sawt Falasteen - Olympic chiefs admit 'still work to do' on main ice hockey venue

The Santagiulia Arena, one of the Games' key venues due to the presence of NHL players in the competition for the first time since 2014, has been a headache for organisers because construction began late and then suffered delays.

Christophe Dubi, the International Olympic Committee's executive director for the Olympic Games, was asked whether the arena will be ready on time.

He said it was "absolutely certain" that the full schedule of fixtures, starting on Thursday when host nation Italy play France on the opening day of the women's competition, will go ahead.

He admitted though that some areas of the 15,300-capacity arena were not completed.

"Do we have every single space in that venue finished? No," said Dubi. "Is it absolutely needed for the Games? No. Anything that is public-facing, anything that is media or athletes, will be absolutely top. Do we still have work? Yes."

"Still work ongoing, frantic as you say, to make it a really great venue," he added.

The participation of the NHL stars was called into question last year by the league's deputy commissioner Bill Daly, due to concerns about the playing surface.

The ice hockey arena is one of the few entirely new venues built for the Olympics, which span a vast area of northern Italy from economic capital Milan to the Dolomite mountains.

Z.Ramadan--SF-PST