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Forget about thin ice. For now, the surface isn't ready.

As NHL players gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Officials announced on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a game held in the main arena until the puck is dropped for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – 24 hours before the opening ceremony.

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

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being set up inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the postponements and worries, high-priced tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the games – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

The return of NHL stars at the Olympics was revealed last February, with the premier hockey organization allowing its players to compete in the Winter Olympics for the initial occasion since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s event occurs from 5-19 February.