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

As NHL athletes preparing to make a comeback to the Olympic Games for the first time in over a ten years, building work on the main hockey arena for the Milan-Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the main trial competition for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia arena that was scheduled for December has been moved to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been scheduled yet.

The issue raises the prospect that there might not be a match held in the primary venue until the puck is dropped for the women’s preliminary round at the Olympics on 5 February – one day before the opening ceremony.

“It’s going to be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the schedule is highly compressed. But we knew that,” Milan-Cortina organizing body CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to evaluate the Santagiulia ice was part of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been moved to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan 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 arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the rink is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, restrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

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

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced passes are already being sold for events at the Santagiulia arena. Tickets for the men's championship final 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 Milan-Cortina Games. Only passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The comeback of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the premier hockey organization allowing its athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014 in Sochi.

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