NEW YORK — Gary Bettman expressed concern Wednesday over delays in the construction of the Milano Santagiulia arena, the intended main hockey site for the Milan Olympics.

The NHL commissioner, speaking after the Board of Governors meeting, was reacting to a report from the Associated Press out of Milan that a test event that was scheduled for the 16,000-seat main Olympic hockey arena will no longer be held there amid construction delays. That means that the first event at the arena may be the Olympics themselves, with women’s hockey beginning Feb. 5.

“We’ve had a concern for the last two years on the progress of the rink — both rinks, but mainly the main one — but it’s the IOC’s responsibility,” Bettman said Wednesday. “We’re invited guests, but they know of our concerns, and we’re expecting that they’re going to make good on all the promises to have a facility that is, from a competitive standpoint, first class.”

Asked whether there was a contingency plan if the arena couldn’t be completed in time for the Olympics, Bettman responded:

“You’d better talk to the IOC. It’s not our issue.”

But the NHL might be concerned if there are availability or safety issues with a late-built arena.

“Obviously, if we have concerns, we’ll express them,” Bettman said. “This isn’t our event. We are constrained in what we can and can’t do, request and demand — and if it reached a certain point, we’ll have to deal with it. But I’m not speculating, and we’ve been constantly assured by the IOC and the IIHF that it will be OK. Obviously, the (NHL) Players’ Association will share our concerns if there are any that are necessary.”

The Athletic has reached out to the IOC and NHLPA for comment.

This isn’t the first time Bettman has sounded alarms over the construction issues in Milan. Nearly two years ago, he warned the Board of Governors at its meeting in Seattle.

“It’s not about making a decision. It’s trying to finalize the plans, some of which are beyond our control,” Bettman said in December 2023 when asked for an Olympic update. “It’s up to the International Olympic Committee and the IIHF to put things in place that need to be there. And, not insignificantly, they have a lot of work to do on the arena. I don’t think they’ve actually begun construction on it, which is a matter of some concern.

“The thing I’m most focused on and most concerned about is the building.”

It appears that those concerns were well-founded.