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Forget about poor conditions. For now, there’s no ice.

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in more than a ten years, construction on the primary hockey venue for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

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

The issue creates the possibility that there might not be a game held in the primary venue 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 games, the schedule is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The event that was intended to test the Santagiulia ice was part of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fair hockey location, which is being established inside a giant convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will host secondary matches during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding medal events. And with a sizable hockey venue, it’s not only about the ice and making sure that the rink is ready and secure. It’s also about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a newly constructed modern stadium.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is slated to become the nation's largest indoor arena. For after the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential future host of the ATP Finals tennis tournament.

Despite the postponements and worries, expensive tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men's championship game on 22 February – the closing 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 Milano Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was revealed in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization allowing its athletes to participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

Men's Olympic hockey tournament is set to take place from 11-22 February. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.