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

As NHL athletes preparing 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 Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers announced on Wednesday that the main test event for the 16,000-capacity Santagiulia facility originally planned for December has been relocated to a more compact venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation creates the possibility that there might not be a match held in the main arena 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 timeline is very tight. But we knew that,” Milano Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated recently.

The competition that was supposed to test the Santagiulia playing surface was a segment of the U20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fair hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive exhibition hall on Milan’s outskirts and will stage secondary matches during the Olympics.

Usually, new Olympic venues are tested at least the prior year to hosting medal events. And with a large hockey venue, it’s not only about the playing surface and making sure that the playing surface is prepared and safe. It’s additionally about testing concession stands, restrooms and all other amenities inside a brand-new modern arena.

This new facility, which is being constructed by a commercial firm, is slated to become the nation's largest covered stadium. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a possible future host of the ATP Finals tennis event.

In spite of the postponements and concerns, high-priced passes are already being purchased for matches at the Santagiulia venue. Seats for the men’s gold medal game on 22 February – the closing day of the Olympics – are priced at as much as €1,400 (more than $1,600). This exceeds for any other athletic competition at the Milan-Cortina Games. Only tickets for the inaugural and final events are priced higher.

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

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