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

As NHL athletes gearing up to return to the Olympic Games for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the main hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is cutting it close.

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

The issue raises the prospect that there may not be a match held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women's initial games at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“The timeline will be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The competition that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice 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 set up inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will host lesser games during the games.

Usually, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to hosting podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed contemporary stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s biggest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential future host of the ATP Tour Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive passes are already being purchased for events 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). That’s more than the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

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

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to run from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.