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Put aside poor conditions. Currently, there’s no ice.

With NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in more than a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is cutting it close.

Officials confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no additional trial has been scheduled yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there may not be a game held in the main arena until the competition begins for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the inaugural event.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is very tight. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia playing surface was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. This tournament has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey location, which is being set up inside a giant exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage lesser games during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is ready and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern stadium.

This new facility, which is being built by a private company, is scheduled to become the nation's largest covered stadium. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible upcoming venue of the ATP Tour Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men’s gold medal final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, 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 scheduled to run from 11-22 February. The women’s tournament occurs from 5-19 February.