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Put aside thin ice. Currently, there’s no ice.

As NHL players gearing up to make a comeback to the Olympics for the first time in over a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

This situation raises the prospect that there may not be a game 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.

“It’s going to be very close to the start of the games, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier said recently.

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 transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a giant exhibition hall on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the year before to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not just about the ice and ensuring that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

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

Despite the delays and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). This exceeds the price of any other athletic competition at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

Men's Olympic hockey competition is set to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event runs from 5-19 February.