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Put aside thin ice. Currently, the surface isn't ready.

With NHL athletes gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a game held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be extremely tight to the start of the games, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are tested at least the year before to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the ice and ensuring that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a commercial firm, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies cost more.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey league allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to run from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament runs from 5-19 February.