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

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

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the competition begins 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 Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier said in a recent update.

The event that was intended to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the U20 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 lesser games during the Olympics.

Typically, freshly built Olympic facilities are trialled at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a sizable hockey arena, it’s not just about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is ready and secure. It’s also about checking food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become Italy’s largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being eyed as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Tickets for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Solely passes for the opening and closing ceremonies are priced higher.

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

The men’s Olympic hockey tournament is scheduled to take place from 11-22 February. Women's event occurs from 5-19 February.