Top-level hockey returns to Milan on the ice of the Fiera Ice Arena.
The Milano Hockey Club takes to the ice this evening at Milan’s new home for ice sports, built by Fondazione Fiera Milano
The new Arena, already the national centre for ice sports, has also received FISG–CONI accreditation for seven sporting disciplines and is open to children, families
and sports clubs.
Giovanni Bozzetti (President of Fondazione Fiera Milano): “No sooner said than done – we have kept our promise to leave Milan with a genuine sporting infrastructure legacy from the Olympic Games, thereby keeping the flame of enthusiasm and passion alive.”
Top-flight ice hockey returns to Milan after years of waiting. And it makes its debut in a new home, the Fiera Ice Arena, built in just a few months by Fondazione Fiera Milano with a total investment of 7 million euros to ensure the sporting legacy of the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games lives on. A new venue dedicated to ice sports, open to everyone – young people and families alike – which also allows the Milano Hockey Club to return to playing in front of its home crowd. The Fiera Ice Arena has also received FISG-CONI accreditation for seven ice sports disciplines: ice hockey, figure skating, short track, para ice hockey, curling, wheelchair curling and stock sport. Over 200 children and young people have already been able to train in the new facility, taking part in ice hockey, skating and other ice sports. Tomorrow, Saturday 10th, the venue will host an open day: in the morning, free taster sessions with federation-accredited instructors will be available at the Fiera Ice Arena, whilst in the afternoon, ‘Pattini in Fiera’ is scheduled – an event where everyone can access the arena for a few hours of free skating.
The action kicks off this evening at 7.45 pm, when the Milano Hockey Club will make its debut at its new home, the Fiera Ice Arena, against Hockey Club Innsbruck, in a match counting towards the ninth round of the Ice Hockey League – a major European ice hockey championship featuring teams from Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Italy. This home debut comes after a season start spent entirely on the road, with eight matches that have already seen the Milano Hockey Club take on some of the competition’s top-ranked sides. The match against Innsbruck will be the first of two home fixtures in quick succession: on Sunday 11th, at 5.00 pm, the eagerly awaited Italian derby against Hockey Club Bolzano is scheduled.
As a testament to the bond between Fondazione Fiera Milano and the Milano Hockey Club, the Foundation’s logo will feature on the players’ jerseys, on the ice surface and on the railings of the new arena.
‘No sooner said than done. We have kept our promise to leave Milan with a genuine sporting and infrastructural legacy from the Olympic Games, transforming the enthusiasm and passion of the people of Milan into a tangible opportunity for the local area. With the Fiera Ice Arena, we have kept the Olympic Flame burning, creating a facility that has also obtained the new FISG-CONI accreditation for seven sporting disciplines, confirming its multidisciplinary nature. But this investment also has a broader significance: strengthens Fiera Milano’s profile and its connection with the local area, expanding its role beyond traditional trade fair activities. From today, for many families, saying ‘let’s go skating at the Fiera’ will become second nature. This is precisely our aim. We want the Fiera to become increasingly a place to experience as part of everyday life, a hub not only for businesses and economic operators, but also for sport, leisure and the community,’ says Giovanni Bozzetti, President of Fondazione Fiera Milano.
The Fiera Ice Arena is open from 7.00 am to 1.00 am, offering around 18 hours of daily activities and positioning itself to become a permanent hub for ice sports in the city. For the past week, children, young people and families have already been visiting the facility, confirming the enthusiasm for this project, which meets the demand for spaces dedicated to these sports, a need that became apparent during the Olympic Games. This evening, however, the 4,000 seats are ready to welcome the enthusiastic Milanese crowd for the Milano Hockey Club’s home debut. Management of the facility has been entrusted to FRIA, a company 75 per cent owned by the Italian Ice Sports Federation (FISG) and 25 per cent by Fondazione Fiera Milano.
The facility has been built within a 5,190 m² marquee, covering a total area of 7,800 m². Equipped with eight changing rooms and a pre-match warm-up area, it can host competitions and courses in ice hockey, para ice hockey, figure skating and short track, as well as curling tournaments and events and shows on ice, with a particular focus on activities for schools, young people and local sports clubs. Full details of the courses will be available on the website fria.org and atcorsi@fria.org .
In line with a sustainability-focused approach, once the future permanent ice rink has been built, much of the equipment and infrastructure used for the Fiera Ice Arena will be reused within the exhibition centre. The Arena also benefits from Fieramilano’s energy system, which features an 18 MWp rooftop photovoltaic installation and a district heating network connected to the Figino waste-to-energy plant, which uses Milan’s waste to generate heat.