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

With NHL players preparing to make a comeback to the Olympics for the initial occasion in over a decade, construction on the primary hockey arena for the Milano Cortina Games is going down to the wire.

Local organizers confirmed on Wednesday that the primary test event for the 16,000-seat Santagiulia arena originally planned for December has been relocated to a smaller venue – and that no new test event has been arranged yet.

This situation raises the prospect that there may 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 – 24 hours before the inaugural event.

“The timeline will be very close to the beginning of the Olympics, the timeline is highly compressed. However, we were aware,” Milan-Cortina local organizing committee CEO Andrea Varnier stated in a recent update.

The event that was supposed to test the Santagiulia ice was a segment of the under-20 world championship from 8-14 December. That event has been transferred to the Rho Fiera hockey venue, which is being established inside a massive convention center on the outskirts of Milan and will stage secondary matches during the games.

Typically, new Olympic venues are trialled at least the prior year to holding podium competitions. And with a large hockey arena, it’s not only about the playing surface and ensuring that the rink is prepared and secure. It’s additionally about testing food outlets, bathrooms and everything else inside a brand-new contemporary arena.

The Santagiulia venue, which is being constructed by a private company, is scheduled to become Italy’s largest indoor arena. Following the Olympics, it’s being considered as a potential upcoming venue of the ATP Finals tennis event.

Despite the delays and worries, high-priced tickets are already being purchased for events at the Santagiulia arena. Seats for the men's championship final on 22 February – the final day of the Olympics – are going for as much as €1,400 (over $1,600). That’s more than for any other sports event at the Milano Cortina Games. Solely passes for the inaugural and final events cost more.

The return of NHL players at the Olympics was announced in February of last year, with the world’s top hockey organization permitting its athletes 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. The women’s event runs from 5-19 February.