The hockey arenas for the Turin 2006 Games are almost complete although the Associated Press reports a power outage three weeks at the secondary Torino Esposizioni arena nearly caused the entire ice sheet to melt, resulting in freshly laid paint seeping through the ice.
NHL ice expert Dan Craig called the arena “state of the art” and said of the outage, “that’s why we call it a test event. There are still some things to work out”.
Only half of the seats have been installed at the Palasport but the 6,165-seat Torino Esposizioni is complete. When the Palasport is finished it will have a seating capacity of 12,116 making it the largest hockey arena for the Olympics since the 20,000-seat Saddledome at the 1988 Calgary Games.
Turin 2006 is promoting hockey as its top draw. Jukka Pekka Vuorinen, hockey competition manager for the organizing committee said, “we’ve sold more tickets for hockey than any other event. In Italy it’s something new. I really hope this gives something of a hockey legacy to Turin”.
Following the Games the Palasport will be used for concerts and other sports events while the Torino Esposizioni will revert to an exhibition facility.
